Okla Sen. Lankford releases new 'Federal Fumbles' report on gov't waste

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Report identifies billions in wasteful government spending

Chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel reports from Capitol Hill

A $2 million study on how children don’t like to eat food that’s been sneezed on is one of the highlights of this year’s “Federal Fumbles” – a report on government waste released Monday by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.

The report, called “Federal Fumbles: 100 ways the government dropped the ball,” lists $247 billion in what it calls wasteful and inefficient federal spending, as well as offering solutions for the examples.

“The American people have signaled a bold new direction for Washington with the election of President-elect Donald Trump,” Lankford said in a statement. “Although the federal debt wasn’t a major focus during the presidential campaign, it remains a serious impending crisis that must be addressed.

“This ‘Federal Fumbles’ report provides specific examples of wasteful spending and unnecessary regulations that are not in the taxpayer’s best interest, and shows specific solutions for how the federal government can become more efficient,” he said.

Other highlights of wasteful spending include $500,000 for a program that texted people encouraging them not to smoke, and $2 million in misused grants that included $1,000 for customized Snugglies.

The report highlighted the federal government spending almost half a million dollars on the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of the medieval period, with $315,000 spent by the National Science Foundation to study how court rulings make people feel.

The report also found $1 billion was spent on hospitals and infrastructure in Palestine.

The report found that the total federal debt is now over $19.5 trillion and equals about $165,575 per person. It also projects that deficits will increase above $1 trillion within the decade due to America’s aging population, and will be approximately $594 billion in Fiscal 2017.

Lankford also released a similar report last year.

Fox News' Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.