releases: https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=f43be9dc-0d84-4386-b935-7613aaf12e52
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=f43be9dc-0d84-4386-b935-7613aaf12e52 | Wastebook: The Farce Awakens | 2015-12-08 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Republican | House | AZ | Jeff Flake | F000444 | www.flake.senate.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today released Wastebook: The Farce Awakens, highlighting 100 examples of wasteful federal spending amounting to more than $100 billion. The findings in retired U.S. Sen. Tom Coburns (R-Okla.) series of waste reports included shrimp on a treadmill and mountain lions on a treadmill now Flake is carrying on the tradition, including his discovery of a study with monkeys on a treadmill for the latest instalment of the Wastebook franchise. To see so much money so outlandishly wasted, its clear that Washingtons ballyhooing over budget austerity is a farce, said Flake. Hopefully, this report gives Congress which only ever seems to agree when it comes to spending money something to Chewie on before the taxpayers strike back. Highlights from Flakes 2015 edition of Wastebook include (click links to view related footage): $1 million for monkeys running in hamster balls on a treadmill $5 million to Help A Hipster quit smoking by throwing parties at bars and nightclubs $1.2 million to put sheep in microgravity $2.1 million to promote tourism in Lebanon, a nation the State Department advises travels to avoid due to ongoing safety and security concerns $17,500 to have people wear a fat suit for weight sensitivity training $853,000 to teach minors the art of making wine $707,000 for researchers to create a fight club for shrimp $780,000 to study college students and pizza addiction $276,000 to discover how unattractive people snag a more attractive date $1.3 million to study how a koozie keeps your beer cold $3 million for bus security grants that were paid, in part, to companies operating luxury charter buses and limousines, including a self-proclaimed nightclub on wheels $104.4 million to subsidize low-income public housing for over-income families $175,000 to develop a smartphone app that lets you know who caught the fish you are eating $1.2 million grant partially used to fund a life-size Pac-Man game The full report can be downloaded here. Background: Wastebook marks Flakes fourth oversight report in under a year. In November 2015, he joined U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to release Tackling Paid Patriotism, a report on their joint investigation taxpayer-funded payments by the Department of Defense to professional sports teams for patriotic displays honoring the U.S. military. In June 2015, Flake responded to calls for a return to the practice of congressional earmarking by releasing Jurassic Pork, a report highlighting the continued cost of pork projects in the post-earmark-ban era. In December 2014, Flake published the Science of Splurging, a report highlighting more than a dozen examples of wasteful and egregious spending by the Environmental Protection Agency. Since June 2014, Flake has regularly released PorkChops, a series highlighting wasteful and egregious federal spending. While serving in the House, Flake established the Egregious Earmark of the Week series, which ran from 2003 until 2010, after Congress enacted a self-imposed moratorium on congressional earmarks. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |