Speaker Johnson draws line in sand on sending more taxpayer dollars to Ukraine, demands Biden address the border crisis



Speaker Mike Johnson (R) is drawing a line in the sand on Ukraine military assistance.

On Monday, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young told Johnson that American aid to Ukraine will dry up by the end of the year without further congressional action.

"We are out of money — and nearly out of time," Young warned.

In late October, Biden asked Congress to pass a $106 billion funding bill that gives more than $61 billion to Ukraine. That would be on top of the $111 billion the U.S. has already sent Ukraine. But Johnson says not so fast.

The speaker sent Young a letter on Tuesday explaining that "supplemental Ukraine funding is dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws."

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And not only does the border crisis require more attention, but Johnson said Biden must give the American people answers about their strategy for helping Ukraine.

"The American people must be provided with answers to our repeated questions concerning: the Administration’s strategy to prevail in Ukraine; clearly defined and obtainable objectives; transparency and accountability for U.S. taxpayer dollars invested there; and what specific resources are required to achieve victory and a sustainable peace," Johnson explained.

He added:

President Biden must satisfy Congressional oversight inquiries about the Administration’s failure thus far to present clearly defined objectives, and its failure to provide essential weapons on a timely basis. American taxpayers deserve a full accounting of how prior U.S. military and humanitarian aid has been spent, and an explanation of the president’s strategy to ensure an accelerated path to victory. In light of the current state of the U.S. economy and the massive amount of our national debt, it is our duty in Congress to demand answers to these reasonable questions, and we still await the answers.

Johnson is right.

American support for Ukraine is waning, and the Biden administration has not sold the American people on why their tax dollars should help fight a war that is largely inconsequential for them, especially when economic concerns plague the average American.

Still, Johnson is not per se opposed to helping Ukraine; he simply wants accountability for the American people and for the White House to prioritize domestic concerns, like the border crisis. A solution, then, will likely require both sides to compromise.

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State Department warns what could happen to $100 million in taxpayer dollars that Biden is sending to Gaza, West Bank



The State Department admitted Thursday that humanitarian aid sent to Gaza could easily end up in Hamas' control.

At the department's press briefing, spokesman Matthew Miller revealed that Israel is warning about sending money directly into Gaza to benefit innocent civilians because Hamas controls everything in the Gaza Strip.

"The concern the Israeli government has — and they've said this publicly and they’ve certainly said it privately to us — is that any assistance that goes in will be diverted once it's inside Gaza," Miller revealed.

"There's not an Israeli military force in Gaza, there’s not a U.N. peacekeeping force in Gaza. The people with guns inside Gaza are Hamas," he explained. "And so Hamas may try to divert this assistance and keep it from getting to the civilians who it is intended for."

Because Hamas controls Gaza, the U.S. government has a "legitimate concern" that any aid sent to Gaza will be taken by Hamas and directed toward its war effort against Israel, Miller added.

While in Israel on Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that $100 million in taxpayer dollars will be sent to the Palestinians in the form of humanitarian relief.

Biden told Hamas not to steal the money but did not warn of any consequences aside from the money tap drying up. The Biden administration has not said how U.S. officials will prevent Hamas from stuffing its coffers with the aid. Miller only said the State Department is working on "mechanisms" for the delivery of the money but did not elaborate further.

There have already been allegations of Hamas stealing materials meant for innocent Palestinian civilians.

On Sunday, the United Nations agency responsible for supporting Palestinian refugees — the UNRWA, officially known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East — released a statement accusing Hamas authorities of raiding a UNRWA compound in Gaza City of fuel and critical medical supplies.

The agency later suspiciously walked back that statement. But United Nations and Israeli sources confirmed it was true.

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'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wants $2.5 billion taxpayer-funded bailout for failing theater companies



Lin-Manuel Miranda – the creator and lead actor of "Hamilton" – called on Congress to provide failing theater companies with a massive taxpayer-funded bailout.

Miranda and "The Cosby Show" star Phylicia Rashad pleaded with lawmakers to furnish the theater industry with $500 million in annual federal funding for the next five years – a total of $2.5 billion in taxpayer funds.

"The person who [will have written] your favorite musical is working on it right now in a small theater somewhere in this country," Miranda said during a Senate briefing on Thursday at the Russell Senate Office Building. "And those small theaters are closing, and those small theaters are in crisis."

Rashad told lawmakers that theater is principally "communication from the heart."

"When we communicate from the heart, other hearts are touched," Rashad asserted. "This is why theater creates community."

The briefing was hosted by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) as a way to introduce the Supporting Theater and Generating Economic Activity Act. The STAGE Act is a "federal funding initiative that has the potential to stimulate the theater industry as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges." The legislation was unveiled by the Professional Non-Profit Theater Coalition, an organization representing 140 theaters from across the country.

Oskar Eustis, artistic director of New York’s Public Theater, told the Los Angeles Times, "To the federal government, it’s a pretty small amount of money, but it would make an unbelievable difference to theaters across the country. Every theater would survive, and could serve our communities in ways that, right now, we’re struggling to do."

Theater attendance has dropped by as much as 30% since the pandemic shutdowns of March 2020, according to the Washington Post. There are reportedly two to three theater companies shuttering each month.

Many theaters have already received funding from the federal government from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program in 2020 – which supplied $15 billion for "ailing entertainment spaces and promoters in the largest public rescue of the arts in U.S. history."

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Top Biden official grilled by CNN anchor over 'accounting error' that will send billions more to Ukraine



CNN anchor Jake Tapper expressed skepticism Sunday over an "accounting error" at the Pentagon that will result in more taxpayer-financed military aid going to Ukraine.

What is the background?

Last week, it was revealed that an accounting error led the Pentagon to overestimate the value of military materials that had been sent to Ukraine.

"In some cases, ‘replacement cost’ rather than ‘net book value’ was used, therefore overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stocks," a Pentagon spokesperson said.

According to the Wall Street Journal, this means the Pentagon had "inadvertently used a higher value for at least some of the weaponry the Pentagon sent to Ukraine, using valuations for new equipment instead of the older gear pulled out of U.S. stockpiles."

The error — worth at least $3 billion — means Biden can send even more aid to Ukraine. That figure, according to Reuters, could actually increase as the full scope of the error is realized.

What did Sullivan say?

CNN host Jake Tapper asked national security adviser Jake Sullivan about the alleged mistake on "State of the Union," commenting, "That's a hell of an accounting error."

In response, Sullivan emphasized that the Biden administration is not wasting money and American taxpayers should be "confident" in the administration's ability to spend their hard-earned dollars.

"I just want to make clear, that is not money that went out the door and disappeared. That is not a waste of that $3 billion," Sullivan began.

"It is simply a tally of how much military equipment we have given them," he explained. "Once you make that adjustment, it turns out we have an additional $3 billion that we can spend to provide even more weapons to Ukraine.

"In the end, though, the Pentagon discovered the error, the Pentagon corrected the error, and Ukraine will get what it needs, and the American taxpayer will be able to be confident that this money is being spent effectively and appropriately," he said.

\u201cJake Sullivan on the Pentagon's $3 billion "accounting error" over Ukraine aid: "That is not money that went out the door and disappeared. That is not a waste of that $3 billion."\u201d
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1684675584

Sullivan painted the error as innocent. But questions still loom over the timing of the Pentagon's disclosure, concerns Sullivan failed to address.

The Wall Street Journal reported that an audit of Pentagon finances discovered the accounting error in March — two months before the Pentagon admitted to its mistake. The question, then, is why did the Biden administration wait to admit the error?

Perhaps the timing of the disclosure is related to President Joe Biden's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Japan at the G7 Summit. The two met on Sunday, where Biden reaffirmed his government's support of Ukraine through — that's right — nearly $400 million in additional aid.

The accounting error, therefore, allows the Biden administration to send even more aid to Ukraine without congressional approval.

The U.S. has sent Ukraine more than $40 billion in military aid since the war began last year.

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Pete Buttigieg wants you to buy an expensive EV. But he uses taxpayer money for private jet travel.



When gas prices reached record levels, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg advocated for Americans to purchase electric cars. Not only would it help with gas prices, but he argued it would help save the planet.

But new records show that Buttigieg has a pattern of using taxpayer money to fly on gas-guzzling private jets.

What are the details?

Buttigieg has traveled using private jets in a fleet managed by the Federal Aviation Administration at least 18 times since becoming secretary of transportation. He has jetted to Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, and New Hampshire using the private jets, Fox News reported.

In September, Buttigieg used a private jet to fly to Canada, where he attended the International Civil Aviation Organization conference. But on that trip he also attended an event hosted by a Canadian gay rights organization, where he accepted an award for his "contributions to the advancement of LGBTQ rights."

Taxpayers are responsible for covering the costs of the flights, but it's not exactly clear how much taxpayer money Buttigieg has used to fly private.

Previous reports indicate the FAA charges federal agencies at least $5,000 per hour to fly using its fleet.

It's unclear how Buttigieg's expensive travel coheres with Federal Travel Regulations for federal employees, which explicitly state that "taxpayers should pay no more than necessary for your transportation."

The issue of Buttigieg's travel on private jets is particularly noteworthy because former department secretaries have come under fire for using taxpayer money to fly private. Tom Price, who served as secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration, even resigned after his excessive use cost more than $1 million and wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

How did the DOT respond?

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation defended Buttigieg's use of private jets.

"Secretary Buttigieg mostly travels by commercial airline, and has directed that travel and logistical decisions be grounded in efficient and responsible use of taxpayer dollars," the spokesperson told Fox News. "Given that commercial air travel is usually the cheapest way for the Secretary and his staff to travel, 108 of the 126 flights for DOT trips he has taken have been on commercial airlines."

"However, there are some cases where it is more efficient and/or less expensive for the Secretary and accompanying personnel to fly on a 9-seater FAA plane rather than commercial flights," the spokesperson said. "Use of the FAA plane in limited, specific cases has helped to maximize efficiency and save thousands of taxpayer dollars."

The spokesperson did not, however, state how much taxpayer money was saved or how flying private was cheaper than flying commercial.

Analysis shows how much taxpayer money will fund Biden's student loan plan — and how quickly the debt will accumulate again



The White House cannot say how much President Joe Biden's student loan debt forgiveness plan will cost taxpayers or how it will be financed.

But new analysis suggests the plan will cost at least $500 billion.

What are the details?

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget published analysis on Wednesday showing how Biden's plan will cost taxpayers at least a half-trillion dollars over the next 10 years.

First, canceling $10,000 of student loan debt per borrower who earns less than $125,000 annually — and $20,000 for recipients of Pell Grants — will cost an estimated $360 billion. The Penn Wharton Budget Model settled on a similar figure.

"It will cancel about $525 billion of student debt. The cost of this cancellation is lower than the amount of debt itself because some of that debt was already projected to be forgiven through other forgiveness programs or not paid back in full," CRFB explained.

Second, the new income-driven repayment plan, which significantly eases the financial burden of borrowers, in Biden's action will cost an estimated $120 billion. However, analysts cautioned this figure may not tell the entire story because the White House has not yet said who will be eligible.

Third, extending the payment moratorium another four months will cost taxpayers $20 billion. Fortunately, Biden said it will be the final extension.

Underscoring the potential short-sightedness of the plan, the CRFB analysis found that it will take just five years for outstanding student loan debt to return to its current level of $1.6 trillion.

How will it be financed?

The White House said Thursday it believes the plan "will be fully paid for" but has not said how.

Importantly, Congress has not passed a law allocating money for the plan, thus it remains unclear how the plan will be financed.

Absent of congressional action, Biden is only, in the words of top Obama administration adviser Jason Furman, "[p]ouring roughly half trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning is reckless."

Rand Paul's 2021 'Festivus Report' documents $52 billion in gov't waste — including money for 'pigeons playing slot machines' and a study verifying 'kids crave junk food'



Republican Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) on Wednesday released his annual "Festivus Report," this year reportedly uncovering a whopping $52 billion in wasted federal government dollars — which he said went towards things like a study on gambling that paid for pigeons to play slot machines and another study verifying that, yes, kids crave junk food.

Paul, a fiscal conservative who chairs the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, has released his annual government waste reports for seven years. And each year, it seems the government comes up with more and more outrageous ways to spend taxpayer money.

"You’d almost think the government’s annual New Year Resolution is to spend more and more money," Paul said in this year's report before highlighting the worst abuses, which included $549 million on planes for the troops in Afghanistan that the Department of Defense later threw away and $25 million for New York City to display art projects around town.

Elsewhere in the report, Paul said that the U.S. Agency for International Development spent $11.3 million, in part, to request that Vietnamese citizens stop burning their trash. The federal government also reportedly donated $14 million to the Wilson Center — a Washington think tank known for putting on parties for members of Congress — while most other nonprofits received nothing.

Amazingly, even while the Biden administration stopped border wall construction at home, Paul said the federal government saw fit to give the Department of Defense $250 million to build border walls in the Middle East and North Africa.

The aforementioned pigeon slot machine study reportedly used just over $465,000 in taxpayer dollars that were provided to the Reed College of Portland by the National Institutes of Health. The junk food study was put on by the University at Buffalo. It spent $361,000 awarded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and confirmed that kids not only crave junk food but are subject to weight gain when continuously exposed to it.

Another study funded in part by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) reportedly used approximately $1.3 million over 5 years to study how hearing good or bad news affects happiness.

Paul noted, however, that the bulk of the money — over $40 billion — was wasted on COVID-19 relief programs such as “improper CARES Act unemployment insurance payments" and “bad loans out of the Paycheck Protection Program."

“It seems like just yesterday the national debt was $20 trillion, but now the U.S. has managed to breeze past $28 trillion, spending and wasting more than we ever have,” Paul said in a statement to the Daily Wire. “While some in Washington insist on recklessly spending your taxpayer dollars, I will continue to shed light on some of the most egregious examples of government waste, and fight against excessive federal spending.”

Biden considers sending cash payments to Central American countries amid border crisis: report



President Joe Biden is considering a new plan that would send American taxpayer money to countries in Latin America in hopes an economic boost would alleviate problems that force citizens in those countries from migrating north to the United States.

News of the plan broke as Biden continues to grapple with a record-breaking migrant surge and intensifying border crisis that his administration has attempted to downplay.

In fact, Customs and Border Protection data revealed that 172,000 migrants attempted to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border in March alone, the highest number in more than one decade and an increase of 71% compared to February 2021.

What are the details?

According to Reuters, the Biden administration is considering a "conditional cash transfer program" to help solve problems in the Northern Triangle region Central America, which includes the countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Roberta Jacobson, the White House's southern border coordinator, revealed the existence of the plan. Jacobson did not, however, say exactly who might receive taxpayer dollars and how much money would be spent on solving economic problems in the Northern Triangle.

"We're looking at all of the productive options to address both the economic reasons people may be migrating, as well as the protection and security reasons," Jacobson said.

"The one thing I can promise you is the U.S. government isn't going to be handing out money or checks to people," she added.

However, an official with knowledge of the plan told Reuters "the options for cash transfers would be to channel funds to individuals through international or local non-governmental organizations that would vet them."

What is the background?

Biden has already asked for "$4 billion in development aid to Central America over four years to address underlying causes of migration," Reuters reported.

Biden's budget proposal, which released this week, requested $861 million for the first installment of that effort. Reuters called Biden's request "a sharp increase from the roughly $500 million in aid this year."

More from Reuters:

A spokesman for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which administers foreign aid, told Reuters in a statement that it is already using cash transfers in programs "to help people meet their basic needs" in the wake of severe hurricanes in Central America in late 2020. USAID is considering expanding the efforts going forward, the spokesman said.

The United States in the past has used the USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives to fund work-for-cash programs in post-conflict nations such as Colombia. Such programs can include labor-intensive rural road-building projects.

Anything else?

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced Friday that Jacobson would be leaving the Biden administration by the end of April.

The New York Times called the timing of the news "striking," but Jacobson downplayed the significance of her departure.

"I leave optimistically. The policy direction is so clearly right for our country," she told the Times.