The following comes from OpentheBooks.com, a nonprofit organization dedicated to curbing wasteful government spending.
For federal agencies, Christmas comes in September, not December.
In the final month of the fiscal year, federal agencies scramble to spend what’s left in their annual budget. Agencies worry spending less than their budget allows might prompt Congress to appropriate less money in the next fiscal year. To avoid this, federal agencies choose to embark on an annual shopping spree rather than admit they can operate on less.
This is the “use-it-or-lose-it” spending phenomenon, and it happens every year.
Our OpenTheBooks Oversight Report: The Federal Government’s Use-it-or-Lose-it Spending Spree quantifies the amount federal agencies spent on contracts in the final month of fiscal year 2018. We found federal agencies took their taxpayer-funded shopping spree to a new level last year, spending $97 billion on contracts, in total. This marks a 16-percent increase from fiscal year 2017, and a 39-percent increase from fiscal year 2015.
In the final seven days of the fiscal year, agencies ramped up their spending to a total $53 billion – that’s more than they spent in the entire month of August.
These last-minute transactions purchased a range of products and services. Contract descriptions varied from a fidget spinner purchase to a stockpiling of guns, ammunition, and bombs. Federal agencies stocked up on alcohol and snacks, office furniture, CrossFit equipment, vehicles, and musical instruments. Additionally, agencies spent millions on IT and telecom services and PR/marketing services.
Overall, 66 agencies participated in last year’s end-of-year spending spree including the Department of Defense ($61.2 billion); the Department of Health and Human Services ($5.6 billion); and the Department of Veterans Affairs ($5.2 billion). Even the Executive Office of the President under President Donald Trump spent $26.8 million in the final days of fiscal year 2018.
As the national debt surpasses $22 trillion, it’s time to end Washington’s use-it-or-lose-it spending culture. Ending this wasteful phenomenon would go a long way toward generating big savings and winning the public’s trust.
Click here to read their full report.
Bureaucrats will fight tooth and nail to maintain their budgets, and Congress has almost no incentive to actually curb spending. That's why the people and the states need to step in with an Article V Convention of States. Click here to learn more.
