Chuck Grassley slams Pentagon waste: A look at the outrageous purchases
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is once again going after the Department of Defense for spending he is calling “excessive waste.”
Amid concerns over the agency’s recent contracts with a manufacturing company, Grassley said he has spent nearly four decades working to bring “transparency and accountability to the Pentagon.”
“Despite these efforts, the DOD still hasn’t passed an audit in decades and its exorbitant spending continues to blow a hole in the pockets of American taxpayers and put our military readiness at risk,” Grassley wrote in the Military Times.
Front and center in Grassley’s article is a February report from the U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General regarding parts purchased from a company called TransDigm. Of the 113 Defense Department contracts with TransDigm, the agency concluded it was overcharged by $16.1 million out of a total $29.7 million. It also found the company earned excess profits on 46 of 47 spare parts purchased by the Pentagon.
TransDigm contractors received excess profits of more than 1,000 percent, according to the senator.
Here are some of the examples of waste at the Defense Department highlighted by Grassley:
TransDigm pin
One of the products that the Pentagon was allegedly overcharged for by the manufacturing company was a small metal pin, as first reported by Bloomberg. The pin, which is supposed to cost $46, could end up costing the Pentagon $4,361 – an excess profit of 9,400 percent.
A spokeswoman for TransDigm did not return FOX Business’ request for comment about the report.
Toilet seat lids
In an opinion article Grassley published in The New York Times in 2018, he said the Defense Department had recently been asked to explain why it had spent $14,000 for individual 3D printed toilet seat lids.
More toilets
The agency also allegedly purchased a $115,000 Airborne toilet for a C-5 aircraft last year.
Cups
The Air Force also drew criticism for purchasing cups that cost $1,280 apiece. The 60th Ariel Port Squadron at Travis Air Force Base spent nearly $56,000 on those cups over the course of three years.
Hammers
Pentagon officials admitted to buying $436 hammers.
Pliers
They agency spent $999 on pliers in the 1990s.
Dish soap covers
A soap dish cover for a center in Ohio cost $117.
Dixie cup dispenser
A stainless steel dispenser of Dixie cups cost $120.
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Gas station
In 2015, Grassley asked wrote a letter asking the Defense Department to give details about $43 million that had been spent on a natural gas filling station in Afghanistan.
“This gas station cost many more times than it should have,” Grassley said at the time.