The Swine Line

ABC15 in Phoenix had an explosive story on Friday night detailing how millions of Homeland Security dollars have been wasted while the security of hundreds of federal buildings has not been assessed.  What has been assessed?  Sen. Diane Feinstein’s $14 million home.

Watch the video here

ABC15 Uncovers Serious Gaps in Homeland Security

Potential targets include the Federal Court House, the IRS, and hundreds of other federal buildings, but a never-before-seen Federal Protective Service audit revealed more than 100 federal buildings where security has never been assessed. 

“People in those buildings need to be secured,” said Tom Schatz of Citizens Against Government Waste. 
…
Thirteen years later, that audit indicates the Federal Protective Service is putting lives at risk by failing to conduct required threat assessments and wasting millions of dollars. 

“You have to admit that is a pretty frightening glimpse into a federal agency responsible for providing security at government buildings,” ABC15 Investigator Josh Bernstein said. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Wright answered. 

The FPS audit points out that in Phoenix, inspectors were actually recycling threat assessments. 

Not only that, inspectors would also copy and paste information from one report to another. 
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The Federal Protective Service conducted a threat assessment of the California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s multi-million dollar mansion, complete with breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay. 

According to documents obtained by ABC15, FPS spent 10 days making sure the California Senator’s home was safe and secure. 

That did not sit will with Arizona Congressman Trent Franks. 

“Well obviously I think their priority should be to protect the federal buildings,” Franks said. 
 
David Wright said that in his 20 years with FPS, he has never seen a security assessment conducted on someone’s private home. 

Senator Feinstein’s assessment was performed at a time when FPS was strapped for cash. 

Wright said FPS was facing a $60 million deficit.  FPS turned to Congress for help, directly to Senator Feinstein and her committee. 

We took the issue to Tom Schatz of Citizens Against Government Waste. 
 
“Is there something wrong with that?” Bernstein asked. 

“That is an outrage,” Schatz said.  “This is a major waste of tax dollars!”
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“Where is the Inspector General? Where is the Secretary of Homeland Security? Jumping up and down and saying ‘get these buildings inspected’? And what were you thinking when you went to inspect Senator Feinstein’s home?’”  Said Tom Schatz of Citizens Against Government Waste.