In September, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Rand Paul wrote to the National Science Foundation and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to express concern over NEON’s spending of federal funds on parties, alcohol and lobbying and the National Science Foundation’s apparent sanction of that spending. The spending on highly questionable “management fees” was a subject of a House of Representatives hearing today.  Grassley and Paul made the following comment on today’s hearing and their plans going forward.
 
“The hearing was welcome and appropriate.  The National Science Foundation management seemed to jump at the chance to approve NEON’s highly questionable expenses.  Nobody on the outside would have known if not for a whistleblower who tried to flag the problem.  The onus is on National Science Foundation to make sure the organizations it funds take care with federal funds, not to whitewash spending on parties, alcohol and lobbying.   We intend to make sure the National Science Foundation is held accountable for such wasteful spending in the past and that it prevents this kind of spending going forward.  The taxpayers can’t and shouldn’t have to sustain inappropriate spending.”
 

-30-