Rep follows Coburn's footsteps, identifies $117M in first 'Waste Watch'

Rep. Steve Russell featured more than $117 million worth of failed government efforts in the first of a "Waste Watch" series dedicated to exposing the squandering of taxpayer money.

The freshman Republican from Oklahoma took up the mantle of another Oklahoman, retired Sen. Tom Coburn, whose annual "Wastebook" publication also chronicled flagrant examples of frivolous, illegal and wasteful government spending.

"I intend to scrutinize all areas of the federal budget," Russell said. "I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to dig into these and other issues to identify ways to save taxpayer money," he said. Russell is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Among the 10 failed projects in Russell's first edition of Waste Watch were $1.1 million in parties and conferences billed to the U.S. Agency for International Development by a contractor, $207,297 of State Department funding that accidentally backed an anti-American film, and $456,669 on walls in an Afghan training facility that melted in the rain.

Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com