Bob Schaffer: “I am here on a personal crusade. I came to Congress because I have got five children and I care about their school. They…”

“I am here on a personal crusade. I came to Congress because I have got five children and I care about their school. They are getting ready to go back to school in August. A couple of things disturb me, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education contract employees, some of them, pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to defraud the Department of more than $1 million in equipment and false overtime. They illegally procured equipment, including a 61-inch television set, digital cameras, and Gateway computers for the personal use of Department employees and their families. That is not all. Another fraudulent overtime claim includes a trip to Baltimore to pick up crab cakes for another Department employee. Two more Department employees were recently charged by the Department of Justice with involvement in this scandal, and as many as four other Department employees remain under investigation. In 1998, the Department could not even audit its books, they were so badly managed. In 1999 when they did audit their books, they got a D minus. Republicans have a different idea. We want to get dollars to the classroom and out of that bureaucracy over there. Mr. Speaker, unbeknownst to all but Beltway bureaucrats and a handful of reform minded Members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Education has failed its last two financial audits.”