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Investigation: Throwback Thursday – $2.5 Million Dedicated for Handicapped Children Was Misused

By Adam Andrzejewski

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

Investigation by Adam Andrzejewski originally published by RealClearInvestigations.com and RealClearWire.com

Between 1982 and 1985, $913,000 worth of funds – over $2.5 million in 2023 dollars – that were meant to go toward handicapped children at a school in Louisiana were misused and spent on pet projects that benefited other students.

Sen. William Proxmire, a Democrat from Wisconsin, awarded the Department of Education his Golden Fleece Award in October 1986 for this egregious lack of oversight.

According to Proxmire, the funds were part of a program meant to exclusively help handicapped children, and federal law required they only be used for that purpose. Between 1982 and 1985, 13 projects were funded to ostensibly benefit only handicapped children.

Unfortunately, an audit by the Inspector General found, “Overall, the handicapped children received little, if any, benefit from the projects.” Additionally, the IG found some of the purchases were made for unallowable activities, and some of the purchased services were never actually provided.

Instead, the funds went to general purchases that benefited the entire school. In one instance, $385,200 was spent on computer software purchases. The price for these purchases was, in the auditor’s opinion, “unreasonable,” and auditors couldn’t find any justification for the contractor chosen or the price paid for its services. A similar conclusion was reached on consulting services that the school paid.

With a federal budget as large as the U.S., it’s impossible to give oversight to every contract awarded, leading to an immeasurable amount of money going towards sketchy personal pet projects instead of intended goals.
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By Adam Andrzejewsk – The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.

Deneen Borelli

Deneen Borelli is the author of Blacklash: How Obama and the Left are Driving Americans to the Government Plantation. Deneen is a contributor with Newsmax Broadcasting. She is a former Fox News contributor and has appeared regularly on “Hannity,” “Fox & Friends,” “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” and “America’s Newsroom.” She has also appeared on Fox Business Network programs “Making Money with Charles Payne,” “The Evening Edit with Liz MacDonald,” and “Cavuto: Coast to Coast.” Previously, Deneen appeared on MSNBC, CNN, the BBC and C-SPAN. In addition to television, Deneen co-hosted radio programs on the SiriusXM Patriot channel with her husband Tom. Recently, Deneen co-hosted the Reigniting Liberty podcast with Tom. Deneen is a frequent speaker at political events, including the FreedomWorks 9.12.2009 March on D.C. which drew a crowd estimated at over 800,000 people. Deneen is also an Ambassador with CloutHub.com, a social media platform that promotes free speech, and with the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) which advances policies that put Americans first. Deneen testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources in May 2011 and before the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee in December 2011. Previously, Deneen was a BlazeTV.com host, Outreach Director with FreedomWorks.org overseeing its Empower.org outreach program, a Project 21 Senior Fellow, and Manager of Media Relations with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Prior to joining CORE, Deneen worked at Philip Morris USA for 20 years. During her corporate career at Philip Morris she worked in various positions, her last as Project Management Coordinator in the Information Management department where she was responsible for the department’s mandated quality processes, communications, sales information and database management. Deneen began her Philip Morris career as a secretary and advanced to positions of increasing responsibilities. Deneen worked full-time and attended classes at night for 11 years to earn her B.A. in Managerial Marketing from Pace University, New York City. Deneen served on the Board of Trustees with The Opportunity Charter School in Harlem, New York. She appeared in educational videos for children, worked as a runway fashion model, and auditioned for television commercials. Her interests include ancient history, pistol target shooting, photography, and volunteering at her church. Deneen currently resides in Connecticut with her husband Tom.

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