WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, is asking for answers on why government agencies spent $86 million on a plane for drug interdiction in Afghanistan that has never flown for that purpose.
“The Washington Post called this grounded plane ‘the boondoggle of the week,’ ” Grassley said. “It’s a terrible waste of taxpayer money. Those responsible need to be held accountable, and the agencies need to be sure nothing like this happens again. A waste of money for illegal drug interdiction is shameful when the need for fighting narcotics trafficking is so great.”
The Justice Department Office of the Inspector General determined that the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Defense Department spent $86 million to equip a plane for illegal drug surveillance in Afghanistan. The inspector general found that the plane has been propped up on jacks in Delaware and has never flown in Afghanistan.
Grassley and Sen. Dianne Feinstein wrote to the Drug Enforcement Administration with a series of questions about the cost run-up for the plane. Grassley also wrote to the acting inspector general at the Defense Department asking him to conduct an audit of the funds the Defense Department provided.
The letters are available here and here.
Update: The response from the acting inspector of the Defense Department is available here.
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