Wasteful spending
Watchdog finds $341,000 wasted in various travels
A Department of Health and Human Services report finds former Secretary Tom Price wasted $341,000 in taxpayer funds by flouting travel rules.
WASHINGTON — Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price repeatedly failed to follow federal requirements during his travels, wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funds, according to the internal watchdog of the department he once led.
The inspector general’s report, released Friday morning, comes 10 months after Price, an orthopedic surgeon and former congressman from Georgia, resigned under pressure amid criticism for his extensive use of private jets while traveling on government business.
“Our rigorous review of former HHS Secretary Price’s use of chartered, military, and commercial aircraft found that 20 out of 21 trips did not comply with applicable federal regulations and HHS policies and procedures, resulting in waste of at least $341,000 in federal funds,” Tesia Williams, a spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office, said in a statement. “We recommend the Office of the Secretary review the lack of compliance with federal requirements and determine appropriate actions to recoup the travel costs.”
None ‘unauthorized’
In its 58-page report, the inspector general determined that for chartered airplane trips, Price’s office did not compare the cost of these flights with commercial travel. In one case, a chartered one-way flight from Seattle back to Washington in August 2017 cost $121,500, while an average commercial flight would have totaled $2,490. Even for a chartered flight, the report concluded, Price’s office could have selected an option saving more than $45,000.
The 21 trips reviewed by the inspector general came to about $1.2 million in travel costs, the watchdog said.
Eric Hargan, the department’s deputy secretary, said in a statement Friday that “the work of an audit is to review compliance with procedures, not make legal conclusions. As a matter of law, none of the travel at issue was unauthorized.”
Other Cabinet misuse
A spokesman for Price released a statement Friday noting that the former secretary was not interviewed by the inspector general’s office and highlighted Hargan’s remark that none of the travel was “unauthorized.”
Price is among numerous current or former members of President Donald Trump’s administration who have been the focus of complaints centered on their use of government funds and other behaviors in office.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned last week after news reports revealed a $43,000 soundproof phone booth, his efforts to secure a Chickfil-A franchise for his wife, and his $50-a-night condo rented from a lobbyist, as well as first-class plane flights. These behaviors prompted more than a dozen inquiries into his spending and management practices.
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was fired in March after scandal over luxury-travel expenses; Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson has been scrutinized for a $31,000 dining set ordered for his office and his family’s involvement in his department; Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke drew criticism for a $6,000 helicopter ride to meet Vice President Pence for a horseback ride; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s use of a government jet on a trip to view the solar eclipse last year is under review; and on Thursday, the Office of Government Ethics reprimanded Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for failing to divest himself of stock holdings.
Most of those officials remain, but Price left the administration last year.