The good folks at Sen. Tom Coburn’s office draw our attention to their latest report on Stimulus spending (published in cooperation with Sen. John McCain’s office). From the introduction:
Over the past ten years, the national debt more than doubled as Congress went on a spending spree–and yet we still find ourselves in the midst of an economic downturn.
Americans who have lost their job, health insurance, or home, are facing mounting personal debts, but are also faced with the question of who will pay off the staggering national debt that has grown by more than $1.4 trillion over the past year.
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The federal government must join American families in prioritizing its spending by making tough decisions. When we downplay wasting money on a $6 million project, it is easy to do it again ten more times. Once $60 million is out the door, it is easy to spend another $60 million and before you know it, billions of dollars we do not have are spent on things we do not need. Sadly, this type of spending is excused in Congress because ―”it’s always been done that way.”
The American people have always rejected arguments based on ―”it’s always been done that way,” ‖ and will continue to do so. Congress needs to make hard choices and eliminate things that are a low priority–even if doing so is unpopular–so we can preserve this country for future generations.
In the previous report, one hundred questionable projects were identified that did not appear to hold out promise for helping the economy grow. The Administration was quick to review these projects and to its credit addressed a number of them. In the months that followed, many more questionable stimulus projects costing millions and even billions of dollars were identified. This follow-up, Stimulus Checkup, takes a closer look at 100 more projects that raise questions about how stimulus money has been used so far.
The full report is above and can be downloaded here.