Letter: Spending must be kept in check

Friday, Dec. 12, 2003 | 9:07 a.m.

The federal General Accounting Office (GAO) is the watchdog agency created to monitor the spending practices of government agencies. But its reports are of no value if nothing is done when outrages are detected.

The GAO recently found that the Defense Department "has been unable to match with corresponding obligations" an estimated $22 billion in disbursements. Economist Stephen Moore summarized, "In other words, the Pentagon somehow lost track of what happened to the money."

Shouldn't someone in Congress demand an accounting from the Pentagon? But, to date, there is no move on Capitol Hill to investigate this incredible discrepancy. The missing $22 billion is considered small change. After all, what's a mere $22 billion alongside the latest annual deficit that reached a whopping $374.2 billion?

The federal government is spending this nation into insolvency heading toward collapse. Meanwhile the constant cry from both Republican and Democratic camps stresses a need for more spending. Our leaders in Washington care little about what happens to the nation, only about creating newer and larger vote-buying schemes.

MARILYN HILBORN