Did you know that the Obama Administration considers tulips, violas, and begonias essential to our national security? The State Department has plans to spend more than $700,000 for gardening at a U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Belgium.
Truman Hall, located in Brussels, Belgium, serves as the residence of the Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Before sequestration was implemented, Secretary of State John Kerry stated it could “seriously impair our ability to execute our vital missions of national security, diplomacy and development… these cuts would severely impair our efforts to enhance the security of U.S. government facilities overseas and ensure the safety of the thousands of U.S. diplomats serving the American people abroad.”
But now that the cuts have taken effect, the State Department can spend $704,198.30 on gardening? What kind of security measures will such a sum pay for?
Try grass cutting, edging, trimming, weeding, and the planting of 960 violas, tulips, and begonias.
Americans can rest easy: our national security will soon be enhanced by gardening services in other U.S. embassies as well, including Jakarta, Indonesia; Santiago, Chile; Maseru, Lesotho; and Bangkok, Thailand. Work at the Jakarta embassy in particular comes at a discount, costing at maximum of $500,000.