LOS ANGELES, Jan. 29, 2002
The War on Waste
Defense Department Cannot Account For 25% of Funds — $2.3 Trillion
(CBS) On Sept. 10, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared war. Not on foreign terrorists, "the adversary's closer to home. It's the Pentagon bureaucracy," he said.
He said money wasted by the military poses a serious threat.
"In fact, it could be said it's a matter of life and death," he said.
Rumsfeld promised change but the next day – Sept. 11-- the world changed and in the rush to fund the war on terrorism, the war on waste seems to have been forgotten.
Just last week President Bush announced, "my 2003 budget calls for more than $48 billion in new defense spending."
More money for the Pentagon, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, while its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends.
"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.
$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.
"We know it's gone. But we don't know what they spent it on," said Jim Minnery, Defense Finance and Accounting Service.
Minnery, a former Marine turned whistle-blower, is risking his job by speaking out for the first time about the millions he noticed were missing from one defense agency's balance sheets. Minnery tried to follow the money trail, even crisscrossing the country looking for records.
"The director looked at me and said 'Why do you care about this stuff?' It took me aback, you know? My supervisor asking me why I care about doing a good job," said Minnery.
He was reassigned and says officials then covered up the problem by just writing it off.
"They have to cover it up," he said. "That's where the corruption comes in. They have to cover up the fact that they can't do the job."
The Pentagon's Inspector General "partially substantiated" several of Minnery's allegations but could not prove officials tried "to manipulate the financial statements."
Twenty years ago, Department of Defense Analyst Franklin C. Spinney made headlines exposing what he calls the "accounting games." He's still there, and although he does not speak for the Pentagon, he believes the problem has gotten worse.
"Those numbers are pie in the sky. The books are cooked routinely year after year," he said.
Another critic of Pentagon waste, Retired Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, commanded the Navy's 2nd Fleet the first time Donald Rumsfeld served as Defense Secretary, in 1976.
In his opinion, "With good financial oversight we could find $48 billion in loose change in that building, without having to hit the taxpayers."
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Don't believe this? Here's Rumsfield himself testifying before a Congressional committee and admitting it. The date? 9/10/2001.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87dbM8Cc5rI
You don't just lose $2.3T. You launder it and use it for something else. Rumsfield stated in his testimony that it would take years to find out what was done about what had happened and to fix it. Well, that was 8 years ago. What
The Pentagon "Lost" $2.3T in One Year under Rumsfielf
Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by alatide, Oct 5, 2009.
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"whoever" in his above post would have us believe that Secretary Rumsfield lost 25% more money [that is $2.3 with a T trillion.] in the first 8 months of the Bush Administration than the entire 2001 Federal Budget when only $292.2 billion with a B was slated for Defense spending . I knew that Rumsfield was clever but how did he do it?
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0200/020700b3.htm
Clinton proposes $1.84 trillion federal budget for fiscal 2001
By Brian Friel
February 7, 2000
President Clinton today released a $1.84 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2001, a 2.5 percent increase over 2000.
The budget projects a $184 billion surplus in 2001 and proposes to pay off the national debt by 2013. Clinton proposes an increase in total discretionary spending of $22.8 billion, to $614.3 billion. Nearly half - $292.2 billion - is slated for Defense spending, an $11.3 billion increase over the 2000 Defense budget.
In his budget message, Clinton said the administration will continue to improve government operations through better management.
"We are forging ahead with new efforts to improve the quality of the service that the government offers its customers," Clinton said. The President said the government's management of the year 2000 computer problem was a mark of the administration's success in making government work better. "The federal government's Y2K efforts were, beyond all expectation, remarkably trouble free. We will continue to move ahead to address other priorities, including modernizing student aid delivery, implementing IRS reforms, and strengthening the management of the Health Care Financing Administration, which oversees Medicare."
Following Clinton's State of the Union address last month, Republicans criticized the President for proposing too much new spending for 2001. Republicans would prefer to see more money set aside for tax cuts. -
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This kind of stuff was going on long before your whipping boy, Rumsfield, came along. So who are you going to beat on, blame, and belittle next? Let's see, there Dick Chaney, the Evil Karl Rove, and let's not forget the catch all whipping boy, George "It's all His Fault" Bush.
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padredurand Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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How can Rumsfield lose money that doesn't exist?
This is just another pathetic attempt by "whoever" to dump on President Bush! -
Since you want to talk about wasted money, check out this article on Medicare waste that came out YESTERDAY.
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First, it is impossible for more money to be lost or stolen in 8 months than was appropriated for the entire Federal Budget.
Second, the so-called $2.3 with a T trillion was not lost or stolen in the first 8 months of the Bush administration. It is apparent that if such an amount was actually missing it would take many years since the Military budget was less than $300 billion with a B during the Clinton years. Lets see 8 X $300,000,000,000 [that is $300 with a B billion]= $2.4 trillion with a T. No wonder the United States was defenseless during the Clinton years. The entire Defense Budget was stolen!:laugh::laugh: Probably by the Arkansas Mafia.:laugh::laugh:
Third, I believe that it is generally assumed that those who post on this forum have some ability at rational thinking; you routinely prove that assumption false.
Fourth, that You Tube collage was obviously an early hit piece by the people still whining over the defeat of Gore.
Again, your hatred of Bush has befuddled your thought process "whoever". -
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one dollar gets you ten that alatide will suggest this "vanished" money was the fee Bush paid to have the WTC bombed.
Hey, it is a profoundly stupid hypothesis, but it wouldn't surprise me... -
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700 hundred billion here a couple trillion there. Hey, what's it matter we're all happy and safe aren't we?
What it all boils down to in the end is somebody hasn't been doing their job. I suspect it's probably we the people for not holding our public servants accountable.
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