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ObamaCare Slush Funds Fuel Dems’ Wasteful Spending Addiction

May 10, 2012

New Report Shows Dems’ Wasteful Spending Under ObamaCare: Using Tax Dollars to Lobby for Higher Taxes and Funding “Urban Gardening” 

  • Recent revelations about ObamaCare’s slush funds are shocking even by Democrats’ standards. Taxpayer-funded grants under the government takeover of healthcare were apparently paying for “urban gardening” projects and bike clubs.
  • Worse yet, ObamaCare slush funds were also used to pay for lobbying campaigns to raise taxes in various cities.  
  • Considering a recent CBO estimate that nearly $2 trillion will be spent on ObamaCare in the next decade, it’s likely that Americans are only beginning to learn the extent of the Democrats’ wasteful spending under their government healthcare takeover. The Democrats’ wasteful spending hall of shame is a sobering reminder of what they may have in store.

Recent revelations about ObamaCare’s slush funds are shocking even by Democrats’ standards. Taxpayer-funded grants under the government takeover of healthcare were apparently paying for “urban gardening” projects and bike clubs:

CITY OF BOSTON GETS $1 MILLION TO SPEND ON “URBAN GARDENING”:(Press Release, “EXAM ROOM: ObamaCare Funnels Taxpayer Dollars to Grant Program that Funds Pet Neutering, Bike Clubs, and Lobbying Efforts to Increase Taxes,” House Energy and Commerce Committee, 5/2/2012) 

PITT COUNTY, NC GETS A GRANT TO PLACE “SIGNAGE TO PROMOTE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING PUBLIC PARKS, BIKE LANES, AND MORE”: (Press Release, “EXAM ROOM: ObamaCare Funnels Taxpayer Dollars to Grant Program that Funds Pet Neutering, Bike Clubs, and Lobbying Efforts to Increase Taxes,”House Energy and Commerce Committee, 5/2/2012)

WASHINGTON STATE BIKE CLUB GETS PART OF $3 MILLION GRANT TO IMPROVE “WALKING AND BIKING ENVIRONMENT”: (Press Release, “EXAM ROOM: ObamaCare Funnels Taxpayer Dollars to Grant Program that Funds Pet Neutering, Bike Clubs, and Lobbying Efforts to Increase Taxes,” House Energy and Commerce Committee, 5/2/2012) 

Worse yet, ObamaCare slush funds were also used to pay for lobbying campaigns to raise taxes in various cities:

PHILADELPHIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT USED OBAMACARE GRANT TO PUSH FOR HIGHER EXCISE TAXES: (Press Release, “EXAM ROOM: ObamaCare Funnels Taxpayer Dollars to Grant Program that Funds Pet Neutering, Bike Clubs, and Lobbying Efforts to Increase Taxes,” House Energy and Commerce Committee, 5/2/2012) 

NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH USED $3 MILLION OBAMACARE GRANT TO PUSH FOR HIGHER TAXES ON SODA: (Press Release, “EXAM ROOM: ObamaCare Funnels Taxpayer Dollars to Grant Program that Funds Pet Neutering, Bike Clubs, and Lobbying Efforts to Increase Taxes,” House Energy and Commerce Committee, 5/2/2012)

Considering a recent CBO estimate that nearly $2 trillion will be spent on ObamaCare in the next decade, it’s likely that Americans are only beginning to learn the extent of the Democrats’ wasteful spending under their government healthcare takeover. The Democrats’ wasteful spending hall of shame is a sobering reminder of what they may have in store:

OBAMACARE TO COST $1.76 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS: (Phillip Klein, “CBO: ObamaCare to Cost $1.76 Trillion Over 10 Years,” The Washington Examiner, 3/13/2012) 

TOTAL COSTS FOR OBAMACARE: $2.6 TRILLION: (“ObamaCare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Healthcare Law,” Speaker of the House John Boehner, 1/6/2011)

THE DEMOCRATS’ WASTEFUL SPENDING HALL OF SHAME:

“GSA MADE UP ‘JACKASS AWARD’ TO JUSTIFY DINNERS” PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS: “Officials at the General Services Administration invented fake awards as an excuse to hold taxpayer-funded dinner events at conferences, according to an interview transcript obtained by Roll Call.” (Jonathan Strong, “GSA Made Up ‘Jackass Award’ to Justify Dinners,” Roll Call, 4/12/2012)

ALREADY UNDER MAJOR SCRUTINY FOR VIOLATING “SCORES OF RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING SPENDING” TAX DOLLARS: “GSA is under fire because the inspector general revealed in an April 2 report that the agency spent almost $823,000 on an October 2010 Las Vegas conference for about 300 people. The inspector general also said officials violated scores of rules and regulations governing spending of taxpayer dollars.”(Jonathan Strong, “GSA Made Up ‘Jackass Award’ to Justify Dinners,” Roll Call, 4/12/2012) 

GSA SPENT $330,000 FOR RELOCATION OF A SINGLE EMPLOYEE, “LIKELY ‘MILLIONS’ ON OTHERS OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD”: (Dana Bash, “Employee Says GSA Spent ‘Millions’ on Relocation,” CNN, 4/12/2012) 

OBAMA’S GSA ALSO TREATED INTERNS TO A CONFERENCE AT A RESORT:(Larry Margasak, “GSA Interns Treated to Conference at Resort,” Associated Press, 4/12/2012) 

“SOLYNDRA FACTORY HAD DISNEY-SINGING ROBOTS, SPAS”: “Former employees told the San Francisco Chronicle that the $733 million, 300,000-square-foot factory built in 2009 had spa-like showers, robots that whistled Disney tunes and glass-walled conference rooms.” (Sajid Farooq, “Solyndra Factory Had Disney-Singing Robots, Spas,” NBC Bay Area, 9/29/2011) 

SOLYNDRA FACTORY WAS COMPARED TO “THE TAJ MAHAL” BY STAFF: “‘The new building is like the Taj Mahal,’ John Pierce, a facilities manager at Solyndra, told the paper.” (Sajid Farooq, “Solyndra Factory Had Disney-Singing Robots, Spas,” NBC Bay Area, 9/29/2011) 

SOLYNDRA CAUGHT ON TAPE DESTROYING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF ASSETS AFTER BANKRUPTCY: “After filing for bankruptcy last year, Fremont solar company Solyndra still owes American taxpayers half a billion dollars. But CBS 5 caught them destroying millions of dollars worth of parts. At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week. They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters.” (“Bankrupt Solyndra Caught Destroying Brand New Parts,” CBS San Francisco, 1/19/2012) 

OBAMA’S DOE “TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN GLARINGLY APPARENT,” LENT $14.5 BILLION OVER 27 PROJECTS: “By the expiration of § 1705 program in September 2011, the DOE had approved 27 projects totaling more than $14.5 billion in guaranteed loans. Inexplicably, DOE management has turned a blind eye to the risks that have been glaringly apparent since the inception of the program.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

DESPITE A RECORD OF FAILURE: “REPORT: ENERGY LOANS COULD COST $3B” FROM “HIGH-RISK” GREEN PROGRAMS: (“Report: Energy Loans Could Cost $3B,” Associated Press, 2/10/2012)