A shocking report shows that President Donald Trump’s Defense Department blew $4.6 million on lobster tails and crab in September, the month in which the agency was required to spend its “use it or lose it” funds, says a report from a government watchdog group, OpenTheBooks.com.
So what, you ask, are use it or lose it funds? Well, for federal agencies, they’re kind of like Christmas. A Christmas that comes in September. When the fiscal year ends in late September, agencies scramble to use whatever money is left in their annual budget. Having money left over worries those in charge because this might prompt Congress to less money in the next fiscal year, OTB reports.
“To avoid this, federal agencies choose to embark on an annual shopping spree rather than admit they can operate on less,” the report states.
In other words, the Defense Department spent millions to satisfy people’s crab cravings, Mediaite reports. All told, the federal government spent $97 billion in September 2018.
But feasting on crab and lobster wasn’t the only thing OTB found these folks blowing money on, per the report:
“The federal government spent money on a wide array of contracts including a Wexford Leather Club chair ($9,241), china tableware ($53,004), golf carts ($673,471), musical equipment including pianos, tubas, and trombones ($1.7 million), lobster tail and crab ($4.6 million), iPhones and iPads ($7.7 million), and workout and recreation equipment ($9.8 million).”
OTB noted “use it or lose it” spending has hiked considerably now that Trump is in office (maybe those golf carts had something to do with this?)
“Between 2015 and 2018, federal spending during the final month of the fiscal year increased by 39 percent,” the report states. “From 2017 to 2018, September spending increased by 16 percent.”
Who knows if Trump’s 159 golf outings since his first day in office may have been part of this?
Featured image license CC SA 2.0 by DonkeyHotey via Flickr
