Senate DOGE caucus takes aim at $1.8B government fund for candy, comic books: Purely propaganda

What is the Department of Homeland Security going to do without its coloring books?Senate DOGE Caucus chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has re-upped legislation to cut roughly $2 billion in taxpayer money spent on swag to promote federal agencies.Expenditures in Ernst’s crosshairs went toward agency mascots, fidget spinners, coloring books, koozies, comic books, and other items the Iowan’s team has called “purely propaganda.”Ernst’s Stop Wasteful Advertising by the Government (SWAG) Act is inspired by a RebuildLocalNews study that estimated discretionary advertising spending within federal agencies jumped to $1.8 billion in fiscal year 2023, more than double the $778.5 million that had been spent in fiscal year 2018.“You might mistake Washington for a very expensive kid’s birthday party, with federal employees playing dress up, appearing as mascots, and making coloring books,” Ernst, 54, said in a statement first reported by the Daily Mail.“I am going to crash the party and bag this costly swag.Misbehaving bureaucrats need to stop wasting tax dollars trying to refurbish their bad reputation, and focus on serving the American people.”Ernst’s legislation, similar to a bill she introduced six years ago, restricts funding for “government propaganda” such as gift items and certain ad campaigns unless authorized by law.

The bill features carveouts for the military, which spent about $640 million of the $1.8 billion on efforts to bolster recruitment.In renewing her push for the SWAG Act, Ernst has flagged some of the zany spending that various agencies have engaged in over recent years.Among them: “Vin Vasive,” a mutant bug that a Department of Agriculture subagency has used to alert the public to the scourge of pests, vines, and other invasive critters.In a video from 2023, Vin Vasive sarcastically told the public about ways they can sneak invasive species into national parks and maneuver around inspectors.It’s not clear how much “Vin Vasive”...