House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. [crscore]Jason Chaffetz[/crscore] wants to know how much federal agencies spend decorating their hallways with taxpayer-funded artwork.
The Utah Republican sent letters to more than two dozen agency heads earlier this week asking how many pieces of artwork they’ve bought, the value, the process for acquiring them and the insurance premiums paid for them since 2006. The federal government owns and leases more than 250,000 buildings across the country and overseas, and nearly all of them have several pieces of art or artifacts paid for with taxpayer dollars, he said.
“Art collections in federal buildings bring creative and artistic beauty to public spaces, and create attractive work environments for federal employees and the public that they serve,” Chaffetz wrote Monday. “These taxpayer-funded art programs, however, raise the potential for wasteful spending.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent millions on artwork in recent years while sticking sick veterans on fraudulent wait lists and letting calls to suicide hotlines go to voicemail. The VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California, for example, spent $482,960 for a rock meant to evoke a sense of self-transformation, according to the architects.
Chaffetz said artwork includes, but isn’t limited to, “paintings, mural and easel, photographs, prints, sculptures, artifacts, electronic-based artworks, textiles, ceramics, and stained glass.” Letter recipients included the Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor and more.
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