If U.S. Sen. James Lankford doesn’t find ways the government can waste money, then count on Oklahoma Rep. Steve Russell to find them.
In his latest Waste Watch No. 8 report, the Republican 5th District Representative cited $16.5 billion in spending programs he considered to be examples of wasteful government spending. He found 10 of them in agriculture.
” “Another year has passed and another year of waste cutting opportunities stands before us. From fraud to mismanagement to poorly conceived but well-funded programs, our nation must address these issues,” said Russell in releasing his list. Showing he’s not afraid to tackle federal funding for farming, the Representative said his latest report is a good place to start as Congress approaches the reauthorization of the Farm Bill.
One of the items highlighted in his wasteful spending report was the discovery of how millions are wasted on unused cars and improper fuel purchases. The USDA’s Office of Inspector General reviewed fleet card data and found $6.2 million wasted on cars the USDA “doesn’t use.” Another $1.2 million was wasted on questionable fuel purchases.
While the average number of vehicles assigned to Local Fleet Program Coordinators was 92, some were assigned nearly 900 vehicles.
Russell said the audit identified 1,133 vehicles with no fleet card transactions and 5,703 vehicles with less than 5,000 miles driven within one year.
“If there had been better oversight in regards to these
underused cars, the OIG determined that the USDA
could have saved approximately $6.2 million by
maintaining vehicles that may not have been
necessary,” said Rep. Russell. ” Every dollar that is wasted on an
unused car sitting in a USDA agency parking lot is
one less dollar that it has to spend on the important
work it does in keeping our nation’s agriculture safe and productive.”
