Grapevine: Is Congress a small business?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine…
Size Matters
Small businesses come in all kinds -- from local bakeries to small breweries.
Apparently Congress is small business -- at least when it comes to ObamaCare.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The classification makes it possible for the DC Small Business Health Benefit Exchange to give D.C. tax dollars to Congress to help pay for health insurance for members and staff -- even though it is way over the 50-employee maximum.
More than 12,000 members of congress and staff have used the market to get covered -- receiving $77 million in taxpayer funds.
Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Court of Appeals -- quote --
"It is unlawful and unethical for district officials to use local dollars to participate in Congress' Obamacare fraud."
The D.C. exchange says it is legal because a federal rule supplants district's laws.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wasted Energy
Two government contractors over-billed the Energy Department -- and used the money for home renovations and school donations.
The Maryland Weatherization Program was given $74 million dollars -- including more than 60 million from stimulus funds.
The Inspector General report found unethical accounting practices led to improper payments.
One troubling example -- "the construction on a contractor's inside director's home was funded in part with Program funds."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The two contractors collected more than $15 million in taxpayer funds -- with almost $2 million flagged as questionable spending.
To Infinity and Beyond
Finally -- turns out a trip to the moon is pretty cheap -- at least if you are the astronaut.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Buzz Aldrin recently published his travel voucher from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
Aldrin says he qualified for a reimbursement worth $33 and change.
Points of travel over the 20-day journey included Texas -- Cape Kennedy -- the moon -- the Pacific Ocean -- Hawaii -- and finally back to Houston.
There was plenty of other paperwork too --
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aldrin tweeted -- "Yes the #Apollo11 crew also signed customs forms. We brought back moon rocks & moon dust samples. Moon disease to be determined."
Thankfully -- no moon disease ever showed up.