WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today demanded answers from officials on reports that federal agencies are going on spending sprees in the final month of the fiscal year to avoid future appropriation cuts.  

A report by OpenTheBooks shows that federal agencies spent $9,241 for a leather chair, $2.3 million for crab, $2.3 million for lobster tails, $308,994 for alcohol, $293,245 for steak and $11,816 for a foosball table in the final month of fiscal year 2018.  In the past three years, the federal government increased how much it spends in the last month of the fiscal year by nearly 40%.

“It’s like we gave Paul Manafort the government’s credit card and told him to spend like crazy.  This is absolutely ridiculous.  No one should buy a $9,000 leather chair with taxpayer money,” said Sen. Kennedy. “The watchdog who uncovered this nonsense is absolutely correct.  This is a spend-it-or-lose-it mentality.  Agencies purposely spend whatever they have left at the end of the year so their budgets don’t get cut.  It’s reckless, runaway spending.”

The report revealed:

• Federal agencies spent $293,245 on ribeye, top sirloin and flank steak.
• One agency spent $9,241 for a Wexford leather club chair.
• $11,816 was spent on a foosball table.
• $4.6 million of government funding was spent on lobster tail and crab.
• An agency spent $53,004 on China tableware.
• Federal agencies spent another $308,994 on alcohol.
• The federal government spent $97 billion on contracts in the last month of fiscal year 2018.  The total for contract spending for the entire fiscal year was $544.1 billion.
• 85.6% of the final month contracts can be traced to the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State.
• Purchases included games, toys, tableware and artist’s brushes.
• Furniture accounted for $490.6 million.  In the last month of fiscal year 2018, the federal government spent $643,833 on sofas and $40,379 on clocks.

Click here or the photo below to watch Sen. Kennedy’s questioning:

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today announced the appointment of Harlan Perez Jerro, of Baton Rouge, to the U.S. Air Force Academy.  Harlan is Sen. Kennedy’s fourth service academy nominee this year to be offered an appointment.

Sen. Kennedy nominated Harlan because of his strong academic record and impressive extracurricular activities.  Harlan is student body president at Central High School, where he also is captain of the football team and a member of JROTC.

“I’m so proud of Harlan. Receiving an appointment to a service academy is a profound honor, but we should also be honored by Harlan’s desire to serve this country,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “Harlan is a leader at Central High School.  There is no limit to what he will achieve in life.”

Academies review nominations before narrowing the list and offering appointments.  To learn more about the academy nomination process, visit https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/academy-nominations

Harlan is the son of Dwayne and Valerie Jerro.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the Phair Pricing Act of 2019 to lower the costs of pharmaceutical drugs covered under Medicare Part D by ensuring that pharmacy benefit managers and prescription drug plan sponsors pass the savings they negotiate along to their customers 

U.S. Representative Doug Collins (R-Ga.) introduced a version of the same bill in the U.S. House of Representatives last month.

Under the Medicare Part D program, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) act as middlemen between pharmacies and insurers, negotiating price concessions from pharmacies that they are supposed to pass on to patients to lower the cost of drugs. 

However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has noted that these price concessions are rarely used to lower patients’ costs at the point of sale. The savings usually end up in the PBM’s profits.  This legislation directs all price reductions, incentive payments and adjustments between a PBM and a pharmacy be included at the point of sale to decrease the patients’ costs.

Furthermore, this legislation directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a working group of stakeholders to create quality standards based on a pharmacy’s practice.  These standards will help PBMs prioritize patient care.  

“If pharmacy benefit managers are negotiating prices with the intent to provide greater savings for consumers, then those savings better be given to the consumers rather than padding someone else’s pockets,” said Sen Kennedy. “This legislation promotes greater transparency and oversight of taxpayer dollars by ensuring that PBMs disclose all fees, price concessions and programs to CMS.”

“For too long, we have turned a blind eye as pharmacy middlemen have manipulated drug prices to maximize their profit margin” said Rep. Doug Collins.  “The Phair Pricing Act will guarantee patients at the pharmacy counter directly benefit from lower costs allegedly negotiated on their behalf. I’m thankful for Senator Kennedy’s leadership and I look forward to partnering with him to promote transparency in drug pricing and lower the cost of prescription drugs.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) vowed to Bloomberg News Friday that he will chase Stanford International Bank assets “like a hound from hell” until victims of the Ponzi scheme are compensated for their losses.  It’s been 10 years since the scheme was revealed.  Thousands of people – including many Louisianans – lost their retirement savings.

In February, Sens. Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) sent a letter to Stanford’s Swiss bank, Societe Generale, urging the release of $210 million in assets.

Click here or the photo below to watch Sen. Kennedy’s full interview with Bloomberg.

Highlights:

Allen Stanford: “This is a very sad situation. What Stanford did is unconscionable. He’s in prison. He’s got a 110-year sentence to serve. He deserves every year of it.”

Louisiana Victims: “These are not wealthy people, who were victimized here. I’m not excusing what happened in the Madoff Ponzi scheme, but these are not wealthy people these are just average Louisianans.”

Meeting with SEC Chairman: “Well they’ve got a lot of legal excuses.  I met with Jay Clayton, who is our SEC Chairman, doing a great job, met with him yesterday about this issue. He’s going to be in Louisiana over the next couple of months. We’re going to set a meeting with him and the lawyers, who are helping my people in Louisiana and many of those who were victimized by Standford. And we’re going to talk about this.”

Working with Sen. Cassidy: “Sen. Cassidy and I are just going to keep pounding them. We’re going to chase the bank like a hound from hell until we get this $210 million. They owe it. They need to pay it.”

Helping Louisiana: “I’m going to talk further with the lawyers in Louisiana.  I want to help my people.  I mean this is the 10th anniversary. Yes, it was $7 billion for God’s sakes. Yes, the receivers recovered $500 or $600 million, but half of it went to the lawyers and went in fees. And you know - this is unconscionable.”

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