When Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and her team of clowns bumbled through a four-day ramble in 2023 to demonstrate the wonders of electric vehicles, it was her advance that left the most lasting impression The team blocked reports of an open charger so she wouldn't have to wait for one. [emphasis, links added]
However, details revealed in a federal report make the entire puzzle even worse.
Granholm's trip will take her from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Memphis, Tennessee, Designed to justify the billions of taxpayer dollars the Biden administration is pouring into green energy initiatives.
Two months after the incident, I learned “A DOE staff member attempted to park a non-electric vehicle next to a charger, 'to reserve a spot for the incoming secretary,'” said Camila Domonoske, a reporter for National Public Radio who was traveling with him.
Domonoske said Granholm's “electric fleet – which includes the luxury Cadillac Lyriq, heavy-duty Ford F-150 and affordable Bolt electric utility vehicle – is being planned in Grovetown, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta. Perform quick charging”.
But “one of the four chargers at the station was broken and the others were occupied.”
It would not be good if the troupe waited to charge. After all, the whole purpose of junkets is to show the masses that electric vehicles are the way to get around.
However, the optics get worse when Granholm's team put a family “with a baby in the car” in a car with an internal combustion engine “on a sweltering day”Domonosk reports.
The family, upset by the federal officer's disrespectful behavior and ugly display of entitlement, called police. It turns out there is no law in Georgia prohibiting non-electric vehicles from being parked in charging spots.
But the staffer was not guilty of the only misconduct by federal employees during the rolling celebration.
The Energy Department's inspector general found that government workers who supported Granholm were not “responsible stewards of taxpayer funds,” and further pointed out “Careful management is particularly important when it comes to matters of high public concern.”
Examples include public relations campaigns promoting politically preferred modes of transportation.
In a special report released earlier this month, the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General determined that within the Granholm Theater Company:
Thirty-six of the 42 travel vouchers (86%) included accommodation costs in excess of the government per diem standard. In addition, we found 7 travel vouchers with travel costs exceeding 15% of the authorized fee. Additionally, we discovered four travel vouchers that were not paid for using a government-issued travel card as required. Additionally, travel voucher warnings about potential policy deviations and issues were not addressed or poorly justified.
There seems to be more at play than just “a series of events and town halls highlighting what the Biden-Harris administration is doing to build a clean energy economy, create clean energy jobs and cut costs for all Americans.” New and existing efforts”.
Apparently, it was a pleasant voyage for some employees.
“The total cost of 42 travel vouchers is $124,823.94. total amount of which Accommodation charges above per diem are $9,487.50and Excess fees range from $50 to $634 per passenger per trip”, the IG reports.
“Travellers can choose different hotels nearby to reduce travel costs, and the government's expenses are borne by the government; however, Department officials mentioned that it is difficult to find restaurants with fully functional electric vehicle chargers on-site or nearby.“
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