As Waste Piles Up, Dems Demand Tax Hikes to Pay for More

After Lavish Conferences and Lost Stimulus Money, Dems Still Want Tax Hikes for More Spending

• A recent report revealed that the Obama GSA’s wasteful spending spree had a second act: another lavish conference and hundreds of thousands of dollars down the drain.
• The Department of Energy’s Inspector General also discovered that $500,000 in stimulus money has literally gone missing.
• Meanwhile, Democrats want more wasteful spending and they want you to pay for it through tax hikes that could cost the economy 700,000 jobs.

A recent report revealed that the Obama GSA’s wasteful spending spree had a second act: another lavish conference and hundreds of thousands of dollars down the drain:

“GSA SPENT MORE THAN $270,000 TO ENTERTAIN EMPLOYEES”: “Four weeks after an $823,000 spending spree at a Las Vegas hotel, the General Services Administration spent more than $270,000 on a one-day, taxpayer-funded ceremony to reward good performers that featured a drum-band exercise and more than $50,000 in gifts and awards. The Federal Acquisition Service entertained about 1,000 employees at two Arlington County hotels, with an additional 2,600 participating by webcast, officials said. Forty-nine attendees were flown in from offices around the country. The revelations Thursday from GSA Inspector General Brian Miller come three months after his scathing report on a lavish, four-day training conference in 2010 for employees in the agency’s western regions.” (Lisa Rein, “GSA Spent More than $270,000 to Entertain Employees Who Got Performance Awards,” The Washington Post, 7/19/2012)

YOUR TAX DOLLARS PAID FOR 4,000 PICTURE FRAMES SHOWING TIME AND TEMPERATURE AND 4,000 DRUMSTICKS FOR “TEAM-BUILDING”: “The latest report of questionable spending came two days after acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini announced a hiring freeze for the rest of the fiscal year and canceled most bonuses for executives. More than half of the money for the event that came to light Thursday- $140,464 – went to a public relations, marketing and advertising firm for ‘coordination and logistical management,’ according to Miller’s preliminary review, which was sent to congressional investigators. … The Arlington celebration pulled out all the stops: a $7,697.22 ‘commissioners reception’ for high-ranking officials; 4,000 picture frames showing time and temperature at a cost of $28,364,45 to taxpayers; five passenger buses, two minibuses and a van for $5,390. And a whopping $20,578.24 paid for 4,000 drumsticks for a team-building exercise.” (Lisa Rein, “GSA Spent More than $270,000 to Entertain Employees Who Got Performance Awards,” The Washington Post, 7/19/2012)

GSA ALREADY HAS A TRACK RECORD OF WASTE:

“GSA MADE UP ‘JACKASS AWARD’ TO JUSTIFY DINNERS”: “fficials 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)

GSA WASTED $823K ON VEGAS CONFERENCE, 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) 

SPENT $330,000 FOR RELOCATION ON 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) 

The Department of Energy’s Inspector General also also discovered that $500,000 in stimulus money has literally gone missing:

$500,000 WORTH OF STIMULUS FUNDS IS NOW “MISSING”: “While recipients were required to have property accountability systems in place, one of the three recipients we reviewed had not maintained records detailing information such as the location of equipment purchased with Recovery Act funds.  In the absence of detailed inventory records, we attempted to locate property using information contained in invoices.  However, despite the assistance of recipient officials familiar with the premises and knowledgeable about the purchases made, we were unable to locate 20 of the 37 equipment items sampled.  The missing items were valued at approximately $500,000.  Detailed records of equipment purchased with Federal funds are important in the event of loss, damage or theft.  Additionally, adequate documentation protects the Department’s financial interest in equipment purchased with Federal funds, particularly in the event of recipient bankruptcy or default.” (Joanne Hill, “Follow-up on the Department of Energy’s Implementation of the Advanced Batteries and Hybrid Components Program Funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” Department of Energy Office of the Inspector General, 7/10/2012)

NOT THE FIRST CASE OF STIMULUS WASTE:

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 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 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) 

Meanwhile, Democrats want more wasteful spending and they want you to pay for it through tax hikes that could cost the economy 700,000 jobs:

“DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GO OVER ‘FISCAL CLIFF’ IF GOP FAILS TO RAISE TAXES”: (Lori Montgomery, “Democrats Threaten to Go Over ‘Fiscal Cliff’ if GOP Fails to Raise Taxes,” The Washington Post, 7/16/2012)

710,000 JOBS COULD BE DESTROYED BY DEMOCRATS’ TAX HIKE PLAN: (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012, Appendix C)

$201 BILLION HIT TO THE ECONOMY: (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012, Appendix C)

1.8% DROP IN WAGES: “Real after-tax wages would fall by 1.8%, reflecting a decline in workers’ living standards relative to what would have occurred otherwise.” (Robert Carroll and Gerald Prante, “Long-Run Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing Tax Rates on High-Income Taxpayers in 2013,” Ernst & Young, July 2012)

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION: 940,000 SMALL BUSINESSES TO GET HIT BY DEMOCRATS’ LATEST TAX HIKE: “Congress’s Joint Tax Committee—not a conservative outfit—estimates that in 2013 about 940,000 taxpayers will have enough business income to meet Mr. Obama’s tax increase threshold.” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)

EMPLOYERS HIRING 25% OF WORKFORCE WOULD BE HIT BY TAX HIKES UNDER DEMOCRATS’ PLAN: (Susan Eckerly, “Letter Urging Congress to Hold a Vote Extending All of the Current Individual Tax Rates,” NFIB, 9/21/2010)

MORE THAN HALF OF NET BUSINESS INCOME WILL BE HIT BY HIGHER TAX RATES UNDER OBAMA PROPOSAL: “And of the roughly $1.3 trillion in net business income, about 53% will get hit with the higher tax rates. This is because millions of businesses report their income as sole proprietors and subchapter S corporations that file under the individual tax code.” (Editorial, “Off the Tax Cliff He Goes,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/10/2012)