Believe it or not, Washington elites and their Defense Department buddies are teeing off for another round of golf at the expense of the federal taxpayer. Andrews Air Force Base is scheduled to spend $5.1 million to build its third 18-hole golf course for the use of retired and active military personnel, as well as members of Congress.

The Andrews golf facility is already on par with lavish private country clubs, including a pro shop and a club house complete with a dining room, cocktail lounge, and locker rooms. Somehow, that’s not good enough. The new course would feature “extensive landscaping” and a “variety of terrain,” according to its chief designer. This is in addition to three new buildings for golf cart storage, maintenance, and a snack bar complex so that golfers don’t go hungry after the first nine holes.

A spokesman at the base defended the project, claiming “current records show that golf usage in the U.S. is on the increase and Andrews is of no exception.” Missing from this statement is that the new course would be funded through the Defense Department’s morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) program. The MWR program is supposed to be self-sustaining, but a 1994 General Accounting Office (GAO) report found that the MWR program receives over $1 billion in federal subsidies each year. While GAO called for fiscal restraint, Andrews pursues a $5 million premier golf course.

Leading the fight to prevent funding for this federal extravagance, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) scores a hole-in-one on this issue. Joined by Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT), David Minge (D-MN), and Jack Metcalf (R-WA), Rep. DeFazio protested the new golf course in a February 1 letter to Defense Secretary William Perry. On March 4, Defazio requested a special GAO investigation into the proposed project.

“Andrews is becoming the golf mecca of Washington, D.C. I don’t think you need a third 18-hole golf course for Washington’s elite. It’s another case of misplaced priorities at the Pentagon,” DeFazio said.

Army Corps Backs Away From Auburn

In a memo released on March 1st, Arthur E. Williams, Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers, rejected the proposed $934 million construction of Auburn Dam, near Sacramento California. Instead, Williams recommended strengthening and modifying existing levees at a much lower cost.

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