The Air Force -- burned for spending $1,280 apiece to replace broken coffee cups -- says it can get costs down to 50 cents, but Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is reportedly outraged at the “reckless” spending.
In an Oct. 2 letter to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, Grassley groused that 25 cups — which reheat liquids on cargo planes but whose plastic handles break often and easily — have been bought this year alone, for a total of roughly $32,000, Air Force Times reported.
Grassley noted each cup cost taxpayers $693 in 2016.
“Paying nearly $700 for a single cup is bad enough, but it’s simply beyond reason to continue to pay ever-increasing prices for something as simple as a coffee cup that is so fragile that it needs to be constantly replaced,” Grassley said.
“This latest example of reckless spending of taxpayer dollars gives me no confidence that the Air Force is taking real steps to reduce wasteful spending practices.”
In Wilson’s Oct. 17 response, she conceded the Air Force spent $326,785 on coffee cups since 2016 calling it “irresponsible.”
She also said a new office has been created to develop and deliver parts at a fraction of the cost of traditional manufacturing methods — and that 3-D printing could replace broken coffee cup handles for as cheap as 50 cents each.
“It leaves me with more questions,” Grassley said, Air Force Times reported. “While I appreciate that the Air Force is working to find innovations that would help save taxpayer dollars, it remains unclear why it cannot find a cheaper alternative to a $1,280 cup. Government officials have the responsibility to use taxpayer dollars efficiently. Too often, that’s not the case.”
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