Good
afternoon
-
Soon,
our
country's
national
debt
will
hit
$20
trillion, meaning
every
Iowan is shouldering
more
than
$61,000
of
that
burden.
Washington's
unchecked
spending
habits
are out-of-control
and
Iowans
should
not
be
forced
to
pick
up
the
tab
for
the
federal
government's
recklessness. With
this
in
mind, each
month,
I
give
out
the
Squeal
Award
to
highlight
areas
of
federal
government
waste,
fraud,
and
abuse
that
must
go.
Squeal
Award:
Taxpayer
Funded
Portraits
Did
you
know
that
when
a
head
of
federal
agency
leaves
their
post,
that
agency
typically
has
an
oil
painting
portrait
made
in
their
honor?
Did
you
also
know
that
each
of
these
portraits
can cost
taxpayers
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars?
According
to
reports,
since
2010,
federal
agencies
have
spent nearly
half
a
million
dollars on
portraits
that
are
displayed in
parts
of
federal
agency
buildings
that
may
not
even
be
accessible
to
the
public.
Recently, federal
agencies
have okayed
excessive spending
on
portraits that
cost
anywhere
from $19,000
to
$50,000 per
painting,
such
as:
The
cost
of
the
portrait
for
former
Environmental
Protection
Agency
Administrator
Lisa
Jackson
came
to $38,350.
Did
you
know
the
cost
for
the
portraits
of
Department
of
Agriculture
Secretary
Tom
Vilsack
and
Department
of
Commerce
Secretary
John
Bryson
(who
served
just
8
months)
came
to
$22,500
a
piece?
And,
the
former
Air
Force
Secretary,
Michael
B.
Donley’s
portrait
rang
up
at
$41,200.
At
a
time
when
we
are
nearly
$20
trillion
in
debt,
this
costly use
of
taxpayer
dollars is
absurd and
is
why
I
am
a
co-sponsor
of
the
Eliminating
Government-funded
Oil-painting
Act,
or
the
EGO
Act. This
bill
would
prohibit
the
use
of
taxpayers'
dollars to
pay
for
an
oil-painted
portrait
of
an
officer
or
employee
of
the
federal
government.
Parting
gifts
like
these
only
frustrate
Iowans
who
are
the
ones
left
footing
the
bill. Because
of
this
wasteful
and
unnecessary
giveaway,
I
hereby
present
this
month’s
Squeal
Award
to
taxpayer
funded
oil-painted
portraits
of members
of
the
federal
government.
Do
you
have
an
example
of
government
waste
or
inefficiencies
that
I
should
take
a
look
at?
Send
me
an
email
by clicking
here.
Thank
you!
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