Report: CDC wastes millions

[Guest guest]

According to the local news this evening, it was also mentioned that

45 million was spent on " beach parties, drag queen contests, hiring

prostitutes for various parties. " $250,000 to boost the morale of 2

employees.

Link to Senators full report:

http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfmFuseAction=Files.View & FileStore

_id=0e72b780-363a-4777-b841-20925a304d20

Report: CDC wastes millions

Agency with big budget 'can veer off track,' senator says

By Alison Young

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/12/07

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2007/06/12/meshcdc061

2a.html

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells Congress

it needs more money, a new report contends that the agency has

wasted millions of dollars, including on lavish new buildings in

Atlanta.

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) says the CDC has used taxpayer money

in questionable ways, including:

> Spending $1.7 million, including some antiterrorism funds, on a

Hollywood liaison program to get health messages into TV shows and

movies.

> Equipping new buildings on Clifton Road with extravagant finishes,

including a $200,000 fitness center, a giant wall of plasma screen

TVs in the visitor center and a sculpture of a woman made out of

vegetables.

> Spending tens of millions of dollars on programs ranging from

HIV/AIDS prevention to bioterrorism preparation without adequate

oversight.

CDC does important work, Coburn said Monday in a statement. " Yet,

like most agencies, it offers many examples of how an agency with a

large budget can veer off track in prioritizing its funds. "

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said the agency has received a copy.

" We share Sen. Coburn's commitment to accountability, and we strive

day in and day out to fulfill our commitment to the American

taxpayer and to be diligent stewards, " he said. The CDC has an

annual budget of more than $8 billion. Skinner said CDC officials

have provided " exhaustive " information to Coburn.

Coburn, a medical doctor, is the ranking Republican on a Senate

financial management subcommittee.. He recently was in the news for

blocking bills to honor Carson, author of " Silent Spring. "

Coburn's report includes many items that have been previously

reported in news articles, including the use of CDC grant money in

2002 to hire a porn star to appear at a safe-sex conference.

But the report provides new details about the $1 billion in ongoing

construction at the CDC's Clifton Road headquarters. The Atlanta

Journal-Constitution sought information about construction costs

under the Freedom of Information Act in October and January, but the

CDC has not yet released it.

According to Coburn's report, the CDC spent $106 million on its new

Tom Harkin Global Communications Center on the Clifton Road campus,

which includes a visitor center with a video wall that is 70 feet

tall by 25 feet wide. It houses a new $20 million communications

studio.

The new headquarters cost $109.8 million, and includes nearly $10

million in furniture and $6 million in audio/visual systems,

monitors and teleconferencing equipment, the report says. A fitness

center has more than $200,000 in equipment, including zero-gravity

chairs in a light-therapy room, a 12-bike cycling room with images

of the Tour de France flashing on the walls, two dry-heat saunas and

a $70,000 sound system.