Grassley Presses Air Force for Answers on $1,280 Cup

Statement

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa sent a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Heather Wilson seeking answers as to why the 60th Ariel Port Squadron at Travis Air Force Base is purchasing cups that cost $1,280 each. Reports indicate that this squadron has spent nearly $56,000 on these cups over the past three years.

"This latest example of reckless spending of taxpayer dollars gives me no confidence that the Air Force is taking real steps to reduce wasteful spending practices. This report also heightens my concern that the DOD Office of Inspector General is not prioritizing oversight of wasteful spending," Grassley wrote.

Grassley's extensive oversight work throughout his career has included a dogged pursuit for answers from the Pentagon over decades of wasteful spending and its inability to produce a clean financial audit.

Earlier this year, Grassley sent a letter to Department of Defense Principal Deputy Inspector General Glenn A. Fine seeking answers on why the department was wasting $14,000 of taxpayer money on individual toilet seat covers. Grassley has also worked to hold the Defense Department accountable for its excessive and largely unaccounted for spending in Afghanistan, including a $43 million gas station.

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