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$35B in government waste at Homeland Security?

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    Coburn report cites 'zombie apocalypse' summit, underwater robot

  • Duration 4:49
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-- new report on the Homeland Security Department that points to more than 35 billion dollars in taxpayer.

Expenditures that this report claims were waste fall.

Among them this one example there are many examples in this report but 1000 dollars an entrance fees per person.

For a zombie Koppel.

Apocalypse she said summit in San Diego.

That was meant to simulate -- real life terrorist attack to sort of practice the reactions and the zombie -- was just sort of the vehicle for practicing preparedness in that case.

257000.

Dollars here's another example for an armored truck in Fargo, North Dakota up.

A city that has no more than.

Two murders -- each year but they've got this huge.

Armored truck that was extremely expensive the truck so far has been used for training purposes and for appearances at an annual -- -- And Easter Egg Hunt or something like that was where they brought up the armored truck.

And 98000.

Dollars for an underwater robot.

In Columbus -- in Columbus.

And apparently there's not a lot of water in the area where they have that underwater.

Robot accident -- -- samples of some of the stuff on here that was found to be wasteful in this report I'm joined now by Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn.

He's a senator behind this reporting is dedicated a lot of his career to trying to find it in the wasteful programs that exist in Washington.

He's a member of the homeland security committee as well senator welcome good to have you here this morning Martha how are you good morning I'm doing just fine I mean obviously -- the Homeland Security Department was created after September 11 to find ways to -- to make us more secure -- a nation so when these communities say.

That they need this money for training purposes to be ready in the event of an attack.

It seems on the face of a like a good idea right.

Well these are called urban areas security initiative grants and the whole idea was to take the top cities in America that -- most likely -- risks.

For terrorism.

And Harden.

And help the states and those cities.

Get them to a point where we haven't a markedly decreased risk for terrorism attacks.

The front of the problem with the administration.

A lot of this money has been well spent I did that wasn't the purpose of the report -- The the purpose of the reporters to show that number one as we don't have any metrics for measurement to say how our money's being spent.

So we're not following -- well as outlined by the examples that you get a number two is is is.

This at one time expanded over sixty cities which is ridiculous.

Number three is a lot of the money is being spent not for not for hardening in those cities and preparing for the future.

But to pay every day expenses which is not the purpose of the grants.

And number -- -- the show the incompetency of the department Homeland Security when it comes actually making sure the money that there's an an out there.

Is spent on something that actually does the purpose of what the bill was passed for -- first flight.

You have the you know we should point out that -- says that that the -- demonstration.

That we showed was not paid for.

By taxpayer dollars in their assessment of it and I and this is in San Diego in September the police officers and rescue workers were allowed to use a Homeland Security grant money.

To cover the cost of a five day counterterrorism conference that was held at the paradise.

Point resort and stop thousand dollar conference -- and it included a zombie and cop apocalypse demonstration in which first responders zapped forty actors.

Dressed as the un dead.

We're looking at video of this and they know what's your reaction to the fact that they say there -- -- tax taxpayer dollars used.

And well let's not -- that is all monies fungible what what we do know is that this government.

And -- specifically and specifically with the Department of Homeland Security.

Is not doing a good job in managing grants and making sure the money that based on the application grant has spent the way it was posted.

The second thing that we now.

Is these have now become almost entitlements.

That the same amount of money goes every year rather than initially to set up and prepare the city's so that the infrastructure would be there.

And that the government would the federal government would put cinema yet so it it you know it's it's like Reagan said that the closest thing to eternal life as a federal government program.

And so in that -- -- where we are today.

This this government sends -- 800 billion dollars a year out grants.

I would tell -- 200 billion of its wasted.

And we ought to be about my kind of man.

And as you point out some of them scramble at the and to spend the money so that they'll get the same amount of money the next year because I want to be accused of not needing it and that that's a huge problem you you know you you spent a lot of time working on -- over the years and thank you very much you're welcome good about him -- suspected -- and -- policies and picture that's been the president's hands were.

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