In his State of the Union peroration, President George
W. Bush instructed members of Congress “to be good stewards of tax
dollars.” So I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear about
the financial stewardship being practiced over at Bush’s own Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. ATF agents are involved in policing violent crimes here in
the homeland, but even though the bureau has enjoyed successive years of
budget hikes under Bush, it is having to cut back on such basic needs as
replacement cars for the field agents and bulletproof vests to protect
them. One reason is that ATF Director Carl J. Truscott has
been spending agency money for a new headquarters building in downtown
Washington, D.C. Truscott’s
438,000-square-foot building is currently projected to cost $138.5 million. That’s already $19 million
over budget, not counting another $75 million for acquiring the site,
designing the building, buying furniture, and such. Indeed, some of the overrun comes from Truscott, for
he’s ordered some $300,000 worth of extras for his own office,
including hardwood floors and a $30,000 conference table. Also, for a man supposedly focused on
such matters as terrorist threats to you and me, Truscott spends an
inordinate amount of time fussing with the details of furnishing his new
place. He and his
aides have held many meetings to discuss the color of wall coverings,
seating charts for the bureau’s top executives, and whether the
agency’s new gym should have shower curtains or shower doors. Truscott turns out to be notorious for taking care of
No. 1. For example,
he allocates $1 million a year of ATF’s budget to provide an
extensive security detail for himself, including five full-time agents and
two armored SUVs. If he keeps feathering his own nest while cutting back
on field agents, Truscott may need all that protection.
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2006.
