Ernst Throws Switch on Federal Boondoggle Express on Rails, in the Air and on the Seas

When you see President Donald Trump boarding an Air Force One, you should be aware that he is about to get off in an airplane that was built more than three decades ago and that the organized substitution for that recognizable Boeing 747 is way behind schedule and over budget.

Ah, only another day for the federal government, right? Well, no, not if you are Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa ), who has been leading a valiant crusade against what she calls Billion-Dollar Boondoggles. Uncle Sam does these expensive tax knockoffs on the ground, in the air, and on the lake.

Take the High-Speed Rail Project in California, which builders promised may provide a safe alternative to Californians driving their cars and trucks. What do Californians and American payers have to show for it?

The project is years behind schedule and costs about$ 1.8 million per day. To date, more than$ 11 billion has been spent on projects with a$ 33 billion original projected completion cost. However, Ernst has been calling for the California High-Speed Rail Project to stop receiving federal money for at least six times and not a single bridge has been laid.

The project’s price tag has tripled from$ 33 billion in 2008, to as much as$ 128 billion today. People, going almost$ 100 billion over finances isn’t a round problem, it’s a monetary train disaster! More than$ 4 billion remains unspent of the$ 6.8 billion D. C. provided to the project, but applications are pending for another$ 216.6 million. This coach is off the rails, and it needs to be stopped before it can wee dah up any more tax dollars.

As Ricky Ricardo may suggest, Gov. Gavin Newsom, you got some splaining to do here! &nbsp,

But delay! There’s more, a lot more, to the Boondoggle Express.

You will recall President Joe Biden’s promise to spend$ 5 billion to build 500, 000 Electric Vehicle ( EV ) charging stations. When he left office, 214 EV charging stations had been built, leaving the system with only 499, 786 to come!

That’s not all that crazy about electric vehicles from the Trump time, though. Test out Ernst’s account of Biden’s post office conversion program:    

For example, the Biden administration announced plans in 2022 to spend nearly$ 10 billion to purchase tens of thousands of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles ( NGDVs ) for the U. S. Postal Service ( USPS) by 2028. While the first attempt for 50, 000 vehicles was placed three years ago, fewer than 100 vehicles have been&nbsp, delivered. &nbsp,

The company claims that “every time we strive to meet or exceed our clients ‘ wants,” but it only produces one trailer per day for the postal service. The business didn’t even” create a navigable design until months after the lease was awarded.” Significant repairs were required when the first vehicles were suddenly delivered before they could be used. &nbsp,

Despite the difficulties, USPS agreed to pay higher rates for the autos. Ironic is the cost increase because the purchase was funded by$ 3 billion as part of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. The Postal Service won’t give specifics about the value of the existing deal. &nbsp,

A man involved with the manufacturing admits,’ this is the base collection: We don’t know how to make a damned truck.’ This purchase needs to be canceled, with the unused money marked “return to sender”, the payers.”

Calling DOGE, Calling DOGE! One has a suspicion that Howard Lutnick, the former Wall Street investment expert, is currently researching the choices on this boondoggle as part of his work to correct the US Postal Service.

Then there are the ship-building boondoggles with the Navy and Coast Guard, Ernst continues. Many shipbuilding projects are in progress, all of which are behind budget and incur cost overruns.

The Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) claims that the current circumstances are so severe that” the ships they ship are often equipped to face outdated threats” because the design and construction processes can take so long.

Ernst refers to a GAO statement on the Navy’s troubled fleet project, which aims to create as many as 20 fresh frigates to have guided missiles and serve as surface combat units in addition to the above mentioned tasks. But suppose what? The program’s first send is three years behind schedule, with a style that wasn’t completed until a time into development.

The Navy overstepped its bounds and awarded contracts to create two more frigates,” Ernst tell us,” before pointing out that the Coast Guard has a similar issue with its job to design and construct new two classes of cutters.

” Likewise, the Coast Guard‘s Offshore Patrol Cutters are currently delayed by almost four years and are nearly$ 11 billion over budget. She writes that Polar Security Cutters is five years behind schedule and more than$ 2 billion over budget.

The Senate DOGE Caucus, which includes billionaire businessman and saw operator Elon Musk, is co-chairman of Ernst and is scheduled to meet now, February 27. Since joining the Senate in 2014, the Iowa Republican has been fighting the good fight against spare, fraud, and abuse.

It was fitting that Iowans sent her to the Senate that time that, as she was entering the great room, Sen. Tom” Dr. No” Coburn of Oklahoma, who gave America USASpending. governor, was headed out the door to combat cancer.

Ernst inherited Coburn’s earth as the Senate’s greatest adversary of waste, fraud, and abuse, and with the help of several of the Oklahoman’s past investigators, has continued in the decades since to do the job of the Lord. In tomorrow’s DOGE debate, Mr. Musk may be wise to listen in to everything the kind Iowan woman has to say.

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