Oshkosh, WI – Senator Ron Johnson (WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, released the following statement today regarding the need for government transparency:

"Last November, President Obama launched a smoke and mirrors campaign against government waste, signing an Executive Order to cut spending on items like travel, mobile phones, printing, and promotional clothing. Yet under Obama’s failed leadership, taxpayers continue to foot the bill for these broken promises. The bill includes more than $600 million a day for interest on the national debt, $535 million on the failed Solyndra experiment, and now $820,000 on a lavish Government Service Administration conference in Las Vegas. 

“As a businessman, I know that leadership starts at the top. The President should be embarrassed. 

“As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I submitted more than 100 requests to eliminate outdated and duplicative government programs, and to provide transparency to how taxpayer dollars are spent.  In addition, I have joined Senator Tom Coburn (OK), who has dedicated years to investigating wasteful spending, in his efforts to ensure that taxpayer money spent on government conferences is not only reduced, but reported online for all the public to see. There simply is no excuse for this type of mismanagement."

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