Jeff Duncan: “we hear and read about so many examples of waste by the Federal bureaucracy that almost nothing shocks or surprises us…”

“we hear and read about so many examples of waste by the Federal bureaucracy that almost nothing shocks or surprises us anymore. However, the Washington Post reported yesterday on a really ridiculous waste of money. The Federal Emergency Management Agency paid $24 million for 112,000 tons of ice after Hurricane Katrina. 42,000 tons were stored for future use, and FEMA paid $12.5 million in storage fees. Now, all this unused ice is going to be thrown away. But here is the really ridiculous part. FEMA is going to pay $3.4 million, $3,400,000 to melt the ice. It's over 90 degrees outside. The Department of Homeland Security, of which FEMA is a part, has 171,000 employees. A first-grader could melt ice. But the Federal Government is going to pay $3,400,000 to have it done. No wonder the Federal Government is almost $9 trillion in debt. If we ever created a Hall of Fame of government waste, FEMA should be the first admission.”