Volume six of Sen. Lankford’s Federal Fumbles

2021

 

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) announced the sixth volume of his federal waste book, Federal Fumbles: Ways the government dropped the ball. It includes how the government is mishandling sales of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and how electric vehicles are not paying their fair share to use our highways.

The report highlights waste and inefficiency in the federal government and offers solutions and recommendations for long-term changes that need to begin immediately.

Federal Fumbles is a to-do list for me and my team, and it’s also a status update for Oklahomans who are concerned about waste, fraud, and abuse of their tax dollars and what is being done to stop it,” said Lankford.

“As Oklahomans face 8.5 percent inflation, sky-high gas prices, and grocery bills they’re struggling to pay, they rightly want to know why they see so much waste in government and what is being done to solve it.”

He said this year’s report focuses on some of the biggest drivers of U.S. debt and deficits including President Biden’s $2 billion waste at the southern border.

Some examples of what the Senator called “waste” represented spending under the administration’s COVID-19 plan.

“The COVID pandemic brought with it unprecedented levels of federal spending, some of which was warranted,” said Lankford, but not the $13.3 million for office furniture at a Florida Army facility, or the $1.9 million approved to renovate buildings at Guantanamo Bay or the nearly half a million dollars for an emergency parachuting training simulator…in the United Kingdom.

Lankford also raised solutions for how to pay for improved roads and highways, pointing out the gas tax has not covered the cost of construction over the last 15 years.

“With $30 trillion in federal debt, it is long past time to stop spending federal money on local roads,” wrote the Senator. “The federal government needs to partner with state and local governments to transition responsibility back to local authorities.”

One solution he offered was to make everyone who drives our roads to pay for our roads.

“Right now that pricey Tesla gets to drive the roads for free because gas-powered vehicles pay a tax for the road, but EVs do not,” pointed out the Senator. “What if EV drivers paid a flat tax on their IRS filing each April 15 on their state or federal taxes to help cover the cost of the road?”

The Senator’s Top Ten picks:

1. Border Boondoggle (page 17) Biden was so determined to leave the border open that he spent
$2B to not build the border wall.
2. Robot Dogs (page 17) DHS plans to spend $90-150K & deploy “robot dogs” to patrol the border.
3. Championing China (page 16) The NIH awarded millions of dollars directly to Peking University
& the Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention during the pandemic.
4. Russian History (page 15) The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) gave $120K for
two authors to write books on Russian Art.
5. Hanging Around (page 15) $15K of your taxpayer dollars went to a fund an opera about
monkeys.
6. Ski Jumping (page 11) $500K went to revamp the Nansen Ski Club in New Hampshire.
7. Fishing in Guam (page 11) $3M of your taxpayer dollars went to a fisherman’s co-op in Guam.
8. Soft on Crime, All in on Drugs (page 16) Biden announced a $30M grant program called “the safe
smoking kit” so people smoking crack & doing drugs can be safer about it.
9. The Lobster Lobby (page 10) $569K went to the removal of derelict lobster pots in Connecticut.
10. Sidewalks & Bike Trails (page 14) $2M of your money went to bike trails in Vermont.