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>From Sanders Research Associates May 27th Market Commentary:
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Congressman Van Hilleary: �There�s nothing I can do.� (Surely resign? Ed.)
by Chris Sanders
Asked by a group of constituents what he was doing about the $3.3 trillion
of their money that has mysteriously �disappeared� from the Pentagon and the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Congressman Van Hilleary
amazingly said, (our paraphrase) �There is nothing I can do. I am only one
of more than four hundred members of the Congress.� An examination of this
Congressman�s web site says it all. Heading a section called �Van�s Views�
is an item, �May offers many opportunities to show appreciation for our
armed forces.� http://www.house.gov/hilleary/vv05-13-02.htm
Mr. Hilleary, who represents the Fourth District of Tennessee, aspires to be
governor of his state. His star spangled web site may be just the ticket to
get him there, but we would rather that he took the time to read the
Financial Report of the United States Government recently released by fellow
Republican, Treasury Secretary Paul O�Neill. In it he would learn that based
on generally accepted accounting principles, that is GAAP accounting, the
United States ran a deficit in 2001 of over $500 billion dollars rather than
the surplus in excess of $100 billion that the government was bragging
about. In his covering letter, Secretary O�Neill helpfully explains that
this is due to the
�..recognition of expanded military retiree health benefit costs�In fact
these expenses caused the government�s future obligations to its military
and civilian retirees to exceed the federal debt held by the public.
(emphasis mine) As with other future obligations of the federal government,
only accrual-based financial reporting provides this information in context
to the public.�
http://www.fms.treas.gov/cfs/index.html Mr. O�Neill ends with a flourish:
�I believe that the American people deserve the highest standards of
accountability and professionalism from their government and I will not rest
until we achieve them.�
That must be why the report is buried deep inside the Financial Management
Services section of the Treasury�s web site.
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This week's Mr. Global highlights Congressman Hilarity of Tennessee's Fourth
District....
http://www.sandersresearch.com
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