Tax Dollars Spent on Pool Upgrades Abroad

Taxpayer money has been allocated for overseas projects, specifically to improve swimming pools in countries struggling with poverty and conflict.

Recent insights from Senator Joni Ernst’s office (R-Iowa) reveal that since the onset of the Ukraine invasion, the Biden administration’s State Department has approved over $1.2 million for at least 14 projects aimed at enhancing pool facilities at embassies and official residences across seven nations, including Russia.

“It seems like bureaucrats view this as just another small expense, but honestly, I’m fed up with taxpayers getting the short end of the stick,” Ernst expressed.

Most of these funds are going toward upgrading existing pools rather than building new ones, with some projects costing well into six figures. For instance, a project in Zimbabwe included a pool cover and was valued at over $130,000, contributing to the data collected by Ernst’s office.

Additionally, records show that about $40,000 was spent by the Moscow Embassy in 2022 on replacing a sewer pump for its swimming pool, a contract awarded shortly after the conflict in Ukraine escalated.

In Iraq, requests for approximately $444,000 have been made to enhance the indoor dehumidification system of the lavish Baghdad Embassy, a facility that reportedly cost over $750 million to construct.

The analysis highlights multiple upgrades, including two in Haiti, one in Russia, five in Iraq, three in Sudan, as well as projects in Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Indonesia.

Some contracts flagged for scrutiny have not been fully disbursed. A significant one, worth $173,000 for the “Plapatan Swimming Pool Project,” remains unpaid according to records.

This spending analysis is part of Ernst’s broader investigation into federal government expenditures, as she leads efforts to uncover wasteful spending, including issues related to taxpayer-funded union time.