Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Massive Failures at the Department of Homeland Surveillance


Since its creation five years ago, Americans have been inundated with stories of waste, fraud and abuse at the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"). Mismanagement, grossly excessive spending, criminal conduct and shady no-bid contracts within DHS have become regular features on the evening news and the front page of newspapers. As a result, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ("CREW") has prepared a report documenting some of the most serious problems facing the country's newest cabinet-level department.

In the report, CREW details billions of dollars in waste and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, for example:

• $24 billion has been spent, and at least $178 million wasted, on the failed Coast Guard Deepwater program;

• over $600 million has been allocated for unworkable radiation border scanners;

• $1.3 billion has been lost on the USVISIT program, which was never fully implemented; and

• projected $2 billion loss on the SBInet “virtual fence” border program.

I'm not sure about you, but I certainly feel safer knowing that we have such magnificent managers looking out for our safety.

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