Ernst Gives 'Squeal Award' to DOD for Spending, Pricey Grants

Sen. Joni Ernst said Friday the Department of Defense gets her monthly "Squeal Award" because it is as "guilty as anyone out there" for overspending.

"The Squeal Award is highlighting waste that's in the federal government and then trying to find ways that we can cut back on that waste," the Iowa Republican and combat veteran told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "The Department of Defense, they are as guilty as anyone out there."

The award went in part to the DOD because of its purchase of 25 coffee cups, valued at $1,220 each, but also because of several pricey studies. According to Ernst's website, they include:

• $209,000 grant to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) grant for helping determine the sociability of 18 different dog breeds.
• $25,000 study by the Air Force to examine the “physics of teleportation." The technology could potentially cost $7.5 million to develop.
• $3.9 million grant from the DOD to determine if junk food is more distracting than healthy food.
• The ONR spent $3.85 million to investigate a study that looks into the “tingling sensation the fictional comic book character Spider-man experiences."
• A cheating study by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation involving 20 rounds of “Rock-Paper-Scissors” played between 60 humans and a robot designed to cheat.

"What are we doing to modernize our military?" Ernst told Fox News. "What are we doing to make sure that our men and women actually stay safe? Are those dollars being well-spent? These dollars are not being well-spent."

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