A county in Texas bought a trailer to carry lawn mowers to “lawn mower drag races.” Lake County in Tennessee “bought a defibrillator to keep on hand at college basketball games.” The bad news is they used precious homeland security funds to pay the tabs. The White House has consistently underfunded top security priorities like firefighter and police departments, ports, borders and trains. Making matters worse, the disorganized Department of Homeland Security has provided little to no oversight on how these scarce funds are being spent. Other ways Homeland Security funds are being spent across the country:
$30,000: The amount Madisonville, TX spent on a custom trailer for its annual mushroom festival in October.
$27,000: The amount one county director in upstate New York spent on a brand new pickup truck for himself.
$76: The amount spent in Baton Rouge, LA for “Skittles, York Peppermint Patties and other candies.”
$12 million: The amount of Homeland Security money the White House is forcing Washington, DC to spend on President Bush’s inaugural party.