Johanns Wasted Tax Payer Dollars at USDA

Mike Johanns and the USDA have come under investigation by CBS.

A May 16th report filed by Sharyl Attkisson unveiled alarming misuse of spending at the USDA under then Agriculture Secretary (and current U.S. Senate candidate) Mike Johanns. Here's the scoop:

Just in 2006 (according to CBS), 20,959 USDA employees attended 6,719 conferences worldwide including 94 in Las Vegas ($254,755), 59 in Orlando ($282,656), and 28 in Hawaii which came out to $2,000 person.

And one lucky USDA employee went halfway around the world to attend a conference in Australia at the Surfers Paradise Resort. The subject matter: Mississippi crayfish. They could've been studied closer to home … but the waves aren't as good in the bayou.

CBS admits that the vast majority of these trips seem reasonable but far too many are a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Republican U.S. Senator Tom Coburn had this to say: "Would you ever spend that money on yourself, if, in fact, you had a tight budget and you were borrowing what money you didn’t have from your grandkids? Nobody in their right mind would do that."

Well that person is Mike Johanns. He allowed this to happen on his watch. Whether it was intentional (signaling corruption) or unintentional (signaling gross incompetence), this speaks volumes to the character and leadership qualities of a man running to serve Nebraska in the U.S. Senate.