It seems the harder we work, the more the feds spend — and waste. Here’s an excerpt of the executive summary from a new Inspector General report on spending by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review of purchases of promotional items, also known as “swag,” by the Investigative Operations Division (IOD) of the United States Marshals Service (USMS). This review was initiated in response to an anonymous letter to the OIG alleging that senior managers in IOD had spent excess end of year funding on promotional items including, among other things, silk ties, pillows, and various items bearing the USMS name and seal.
We found that the IOD spent at least $793,118 on promotional items during fiscal years 2005 to 2010 and that these expenditures were excessive and, in some instances, in contravention of Department Policies and Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions and guidance. Furthermore, IOD’s spending on promotional items increased by 975 percent during the 6-year period examined by the OIG and vastly outpaced the growth of the USMS’s appropriation during the same period. As an illustration of some of the IOD’s spending, we found that in six years the IOD branches spent $155,081 on USMS challenge coins, $11,338 on neckties and silk scarves bearing the USMS seal, $13,605 on USMS-themed Christmas ornaments, $16,084 on USMS-themed blankets and throws, and $36,596 on USMS lapel pins.
Remember this the next time the Left proposes higher taxes and fees.
