Moment Rep. Mike Waltz holds up a $90,000 bag of insulator joints as stumped ... trends now
US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall suffered an awkward moment in Congress as he was stumped over a question about military overspending.
The military leader was questioned by Florida Congressman Mike Waltz over the 'exorbitant' amounts spent on regular inexpensive items, using a bag of bushings as an example.
Despite the small bag of electrical bolts costing average Americans around $100, Waltz said the military forks out $90,000 a bag.
'This is literally driving us out of business,' he said. 'The interest on our debt alone is now exceeding, for the first time in American history, the entire defense budget.'
Florida Congressman Mike Waltz slammed US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall over military overspending, using a $90,000 bag of bushings as an example
Kendall was stumped when quizzed over the 'exorbitant' spending, particularly as the DOD sources commercial parts directly from factories
Waltz began his grilling of the Air Force secretary by holding up the small bag of bushings, which only contained a handful of bolts.
'This, Mr. Secretary, is a bag of bushings,' he began. 'This bag of bushings, stamped out by machines, don't need a high school diploma, nothing high tech about this, all of this bag is complaint with the FAA specifications.
'How much do you think the Air Force pays for this bag of bushings?'
Kendall responded that he 'didn't know', leading Waltz to quickly clarify: '$90,000.'
Waving the small bag in the air, the exacerbated representative continued: 'This is a $90,000 bag of bushings, that you need for any jet turbine engine.'
Bushings are essential components of engines, and the small rotating parts are typically placed between joint mounts for vibration absorbtion, rotation support and thermal resistance.
Branding the cost 'exorbitant', Waltz noted that the Department of Defense sources all commercial parts directly from original equipment manufacturers, meaning they should be cheaper than off-the-shelf items.
However, while everyday Americans can expect to pay roughly $100 for the bag of bushings, Waltz questioned why the taxpayers were footing the bill for the huge markup.
'This is literally driving us out of business,' he
