We at the Convention of States Project often say that the biggest problem in D.C. isn't the people -- it's the system.
We can try to elected "good" politicians who will appoint "good" bureaucrats, but at the end of the day, the incentives in Washington will always point towards waste of money and abuse of power.
Case in point: "use it or lose it" spending.
At the end of every fiscal year in September, federal agencies go on a shopping spree to spend the remaining money in their budgets. They're terrified that their budgets will be cut if Congress finds out they can operate on less money, so they buy wasteful, needless items to fill out their budget -- all at the expense of the American people.
Open the Books conducted an analysis of federal spending in September of 2019, and they found that agencies spent $91 billion throughout the month and $23.8 billion in the final two days of the month. Needless to say, these numbers far exceed their usual spending habits.
Here are a few examples of what they purchased with your money:
- $50 million on lobster tail, crab, fish, and steak – As the fiscal year wrapped up, agencies splurged on luxury food items. The Department of Defense (DOD) reported spending $40.1 million on Mahi Mahi, salmon, and catfish. Another $4.6 million purchased lobster tail and crab – including snow crab, claws, legs, and clusters. Additionally, the DOD spent $400,000 on steak (ribeye, sirloin, and flank).
- $690.6 million loaded the gun locker – Eight departments made last-minute purchases of guns, ammunition, and other weaponry during the final month of the fiscal year. Even non-military agencies including Veterans Affairs (VA), Treasury, Interior, Education, Health And Human Services, Agriculture, and Labor spent $1.5 million in guns and ammunition. For example, the VA purchased $650,964 worth of ammunition, handguns, and long guns – a “military police long gun program” with AR15-style weaponry.
- More than $500,000 on booze – Is the fiscal year-end one big party? The Pentagon and the State Department purchased beer and wine, much of which went to embassies and consulates around the world.
- $456.8 million public relations/self-promotion machine – Federal agencies spent millions on public relations, marketing research and public opinion, communications, and advertising in the final month of fiscal year 2019. Yes, agencies spent taxpayer dollars to convince taxpayers to shovel even more taxpayer money into the federal government next year.
This is just the tip of the ice burg. Open the Books included even more examples in their article in Forbes, and they list the full details in their report.
If the federal government wastes our money, how do we get them to stop?
We can't just swap out politicians every two and four years. If we want to drain the swamp, we have to change the way D.C. operates -- and we can do that with a Convention of States.
An Article V Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that force Congress to take their fiscal oversight responsibilities seriously. It's obvious to every reasonable American that federal agencies waste our money, but Congress has no mandate to change anything.
Constitutional amendments can force Congress to balance the budget by cutting spending without raising taxes. Such amendments would compel our elected officials to take federal agencies to task for their waste and abuse, and end "use it or lose it" spending once and for all.
Over four million Americans have voiced their support, and 15 of the necessary 34 states have passed the Convention of States Resolution.
To join the movement, sign the petition below!
