Grassley: Is DEA regularly wasting taxpayer dollars?

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) blasted the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for wasting taxpayer dollars.

“If it’s accurate that the DEA was paying a secretary for information it could have received for free, that’s a waste of public money,” Grassley said on Tuesday. “Accountability is necessary for this episode and any others like it to ensure the appropriate use of agency resources.”

{mosads}Grassley’s comments came after the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General confirmed that it is investigating DEA payments to an Amtrak employee for information that is freely available.

Reports about the wasted $850,000 emerged last month, but on Tuesday the department confirmed it was investigating the situation.

Grassley called for more accountability and government oversight of how the DEA is spending money. 

“It’s appropriate for the inspector general to investigate,” Grassley said. “Bigger picture, it’s important for the Justice Department and the inspector general to determine whether payments like this happen regularly at DEA and other Justice Department components and if so, whether the money is going out the door with little or no oversight.”