On Wednesday, Senate Republicans voted to keep their self-imposed earmark ban. That is sort of good news because House Republicans decided to restore earmarks (and of course House and Senate Democrats have always supported using earmarks). What Congress won’t tell you is that they have been earmarking during the ban. For example, every year during the ban, Congress has added tens of billions of dollars in earmarks to the Department of Defense budget. These are items that are not requested by the DoD and are usually only requested by one member of Congress. The vote on Wednesday isn’t binding so basically any Republican who wants to request earmarks probably won’t face repercussions. And, according to Roll Call, “The conference also adopted a new nonbinding rule that would require any increase in the statutory debt limit to be offset with corresponding spending cuts ‘or meaningful structural reforms in spending,’” I’m not naïve, I know we have a long way to go, but with $6 trillion being spent in the last year, this is at least a start.
The Postal Service is Creepy
This title may win the award for the best double entendre ever. On April 21, Yahoo News reported that the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) law enforcement arm, “has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans’ social media posts, including those about planned protests…” under an initiative called the “Internet Covert Operations Program” (iCOP). Wait, what? According to the Yahoo News report, the USPS has been collecting social media data to monitor “significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and domestically” and identify locations and times for protest events. Data collection has included taking screenshots from Facebook, Telegram, Parler, and other social media sites and disseminating these posts through agency bulletins, despite screenshotted posts seemingly not containing threats or other actionable intelligence. While iCOP exists to combat digital misuse of the postal system, it is unclear as to how monitoring protests and broadly collecting social media information furthers that goal.
Yes, I know, government surveillance of civilians is nothing new. Revelations about a sprawling federal surveillance apparatus prompted the Obama administration to undertake a review of bulk data collection and produce a report on the subject. But, it is especially alarming that America’s mail carrier has taken part in this surveillance along with intelligence collection agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA). University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone, who was appointed by then-President Obama to assist in reviewing the NSA’s bulk collection activities, recently stated, “I don’t understand why the government would go to the Postal Service for examining the internet for security issues.” The revelations are particularly alarming given the USPS’ decades-long track-record in keeping information from the public. Analysts and researchers regularly submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the agency, only for these requests to be spurned for little apparent reason. In fiscal year 2019, the USPS fully denied more than a third of processed and finalized FOIA requests. In contrast, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security fully denied less than 10 percent of FOIA requests even though those agencies regularly handle sensitive criminal justice and national security documents. It is inexcusable that America’s mail carrier keeps more secrets than departments in charge of public safety. It is time for the agency to commit to greater transparency and come clean about their clandestine data collection activities. Continued secrecy and mission creep is eroding public trust in the organization while resulting in the inefficient allocation of the USPS’ scarce revenues.
Earlier this week we sent a letter to Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, urging them to investigate the USPS’ currently classified activities and hold the agency accountable for any misuses of taxpayer dollars. As a friend said to me, “the good news is that the USPS is bad at everything else, so they’re probably bad at doing this.” Now that’s a glass half full sentiment.
The Many Costs of War
Needless to say, we don’t agree with President Biden on many things. Withdrawing troops for Afghanistan is an important area where we do agree with President Biden. Even a cursory analysis of the human cost of this war – and the cost to the American taxpayer – shows that this is a prudent move by the administration. President Biden should stay firm and resist the critics calling for further delays of this long overdue move. According to official statistics given by the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the US has spent $822 billion on its occupation of Afghanistan since October of 2001. However, this already lofty figure represents only money spent directly in Afghanistan. It does not count money spent on forces and bases in neighboring Pakistan used to conduct operations in Afghanistan. A study conducted at Brown University shows that the $822 billion number may be a gross underestimation. That study estimates all post-9/11 war activity by the U.S. cost American taxpayers a staggering $5.9 trillion, with $2 trillion of that going towards operations in Afghanistan. For perspective, this figure represents roughly 20 percent of our entire national debt. This is a crushing burden that’s been placed on American citizens. As with any government outlays of this scale, these expenditures need to be reviewed for its efficiency – or lack thereof – and any potential waste. The record is far from favorable. Roughly $1.5 trillion of the $2 billion has been spent on waging war against terrorist groups and against the Taliban. Yet, today, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Taliban is stronger than it has been at any point in the last 19 years. Even after this massive expenditure, one could argue little to no progress has been made. As of 2019, the U.S. had spent $10 billion on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction noted this effort has been a “failure.” In fact, Afghanistan is now responsible for roughly 80 percent of the globe’s illicit opium production. In contrast, Afghanistan had almost completely eradicated it prior to the U.S. invasion in 2001. Once again, taxpayer money seems to only be taking us backward in Afghanistan. Another $87 billion have gone to supporting and training Afghan security forces. Despite public optimism about the improvement and competence of these security forces, private musings reveal an entirely different picture. In recently declassified interviews with US, NATO, and Afghan officials, these officials described Afghan security forces as “incompetent, unmotivated, poorly trained, corrupt, and riddled with deserters and infiltrators.” After almost two decades, it has become clear that U.S. time and money is not enhancing the quality of Afghan security.
Lastly, when viewing the cost of this endeavor, we cannot ignore the human cost. Almost 2,400 military service men and women have lost their lives serving in Afghanistan. An additional 1,700 contractors have lost their lives. More than 20,000 service members sustained injuries in Afghanistan. We cannot let any more perish or suffer in vain, especially given the poor track record of accomplishments. Any US spending program should subject to immense scrutiny, especially when the price tag is as astronomically high as it has been in Afghanistan. The record shows that American expenditures have not accomplished their stated goals. Yet, the American taxpayer continues footing the bill almost two decades later. It is time to provide them much-needed relief, especially with the levels of spending the US has reached in the last year.
The Biden administration ought to be applauded for reviewing this record and deciding it is long past time to end it. Hopefully, the withdrawal will proceed as scheduled in September.
BLOGS:
Tuesday: To Increase Smoking Rates Among Young Adults, Keep Hiking Vape Taxes
Wednesday: J.D. Vance Shows How the Populist Right Adopted the Logic of ‘You Didn’t Build That’
Thursday: Electric Vehicle Subsidies’ Surprising Appearance in Infrastructure Bill
Friday: TPA Sends Letter to Homeland Security Committee on Postal Service Surveillance
Media:
April 15, 2021: WBFF-TV Fox 45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story,. “Expert says ending chronic homelessness saves taxpayer money.”
April 15, 2021: WBFF-TV Fox 45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Vacant city buildings have heavy price tag.”
April 16, 2021: VapingPost quoted TPA in their story, “UCSF Study Looks Into The Relationship Between Vaping and Smoking Cessation.”
April 16, 2021: WSB-TV ABC 2 (Atlanta Ga.) quoted TPA in their story, “Couple facing federal charges for conspiracy to steal millions in COVID relief funding.”
April 16, 2021: WRDQ-TV ABC 27 (Orlando, Fla.) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April 16, 2021: KVIQ-TV NBC 14 (Eureka, Calif.) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April 16, 2021: KIRO-TV CBS 7 (Seattle, Wa.) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April 16, 2021 WHBQ-TV Fox 13 (Tulsa, Ok.) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April 16, 2021: WFXT-TV Fox 25 (Boston, Mass.) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April 16, 2021: KYMA-TV NBC 11 (Yuma, Ariz.) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April 16, 2021: WSYT-TV Fox 68 (Syracuse, NY) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April. 16, 2021: WICZ-TV Fox 40 (Binghamton, NY) quoted TPA about a Georgia couple facing charges to steal millions in COVID relief funding.
April 16, 2021: The Livingston Parish News (Denham Springs, La.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Biden shouldn’t throw more taxpayer money at broadband.”
April 19, 2021: WBFF-TV Fox 45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about security contract.
April 19, 2021: The Epoch Times quoted TPA in their story, “True National Debt Exceeds $123 Trillion, or Nearly $800,000 per Taxpayer.”
April 20, 2021: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “Pilot program could steer transportation system in better direction.”
April 21, 2021: Real Clear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, “The LIFT Act Will Only Succeed In Widening America's Digital Divide.”
April 21, 2021: WBFF-TV Fox 45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Baltimore schools responsibility: 'Instead of deflecting, the Mayor needs to take charge'.”
April 22, 2021: WBFF-TV Fox 45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about state employees moving from Annapolis to Baltimore.
April 22, 2021: I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about Medicaid expansion and the Green New Deal.
April 22, 2021: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “This World IP Day, celebrate progress against current and future pandemics.”
April 22, 2021: KULR-TV NBC 8 (Billings, Mont.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “This World IP Day, celebrate progress against current and future pandemics.”
April 23, 2021: VP of Policy Patrick Hedger appeared on the Fred Holland Show (national podcast) to discuss his op-ed on JD Vance and big tech.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
