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Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 12:02:37 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <200207251602.MAA40088@columbia.lp.org>
To: announce@hq.lp.org
Subject: LP RELEASE: Outrageous military spending
From: Libertarian Party Announcements <owner-announce@lp.org>
Reply-To: owner-announce@hq.lp.org

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NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org
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For release: July 25, 2002
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For additional information:
George Getz, Press Secretary
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-Mail: pressreleases@hq.LP.org
===============================

Thousands spent on strippers, golf memberships
shows Pentagon spending is out of control, Libertarians say

WASHINGTON, DC -- Quiz question: Which of the following items have been 
charged to the taxpayers recently by military personnel wielding 
government-issued credit cards?

(a) $38,000 for lap dancing at strip clubs near military bases.

(b) $3,400 for a Sumo wrestling suit and $9,800 for Halloween costumes.

(c) $7,373 for closing costs on a home and $16,000 for a corporate golf 
membership.

(d) $4,600 for white beach sand and $19,000 worth of decorative "river 
rock" at a military base in the Arabian desert.

(e) all of the above.

"Incredibly, the answer is 'all of the above,' said Steve Dasbach, 
Libertarian Party executive director. "Thanks to the federal 
government's policy of doling out credit cards with no questions asked, 
the military has launched a raid on your wallet."

The shocking revelations are contained in a General Accounting Office 
audit released last week that uncovered $101 million in "seemingly 
unneeded expenditures" made by the Air Force and Army in 2000 and 
2001. The purchases were made possible by the federal government's lax 
credit card policy: At least 1.4 million Defense Department employees 
carry credit cards, and last year they used them to splurge on $6.1 
billion in goods and services, the audit found.

In one case, a group of 200 soldiers used their military IDs and 
government-issued travel cards to get cash at adult-entertainment bars, 
then spent the money there. The clubs charged a 10 percent fee to 
supply the soldiers with cash -- then billed the full amount to their 
travel cards as a restaurant charge, the GAO found.

"Are these warriors really fighting terrorism while frolicking in a 
strip club, or defending our country while wearing a Sumo wrestling 
suit?" asked Dasbach. "Americans who support a bigger defense budget, 
take note: The Pentagon frequently behaves like any other bloated, 
reckless government agency. It promises your money will be spent on the 
worthiest of causes, then squanders it on things you could never even 
imagine."

Other spending uncovered by the audit included $45,000 for luxury 
cruises, $1,800 for executive pillows, and $24,000 for a sofa and 
armchair at a military installation in the Middle East, Dasbach noted.
 
Some military employees actually defended the purchases, the audit 
noted, by saying that recreational items such as golf memberships can 
be "a useful tool for building good relations with a host country" 
such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. 

Not surprisingly, Dasbach said, the audit found "little evidence of 
documented disciplinary action" against those who misused the cards, 
so taxpayers may end up paying the tab.
  
"It's time to impose a little military discipline on these deadbeat 
Defense Department workers, and force them to personally reimburse 
taxpayers for every penny of improper spending," he said.
 
"Then cut the Pentagon's massive $379 billion budget to help guard 
against such wasteful spending in the future. Perhaps that's one way to 
force the Pentagon to spend its resources defending the country, 
instead of offending the taxpayer."


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