While Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano threatens to furlough thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guards that will supposedly cause long lines at airports, it seems the TSA is ready and able to spend $50 million on new uniforms. That’s right. Two days before the sequester began, the TSA announced it has just awarded a $50 million one-year contract to purchase uniforms for airport screeners.
The lucky contract winner is VF Imagewear, which owns the Lee Brand and Wrangler Hero. What does the TSA get for the $1,000 cost per employee? Well, their initial uniform set is “3 long-sleeved shirts, 3 short-sleeved shirts, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 ties, and one belt, sweater, socks, and jacket.” However, if you go online to check what Wrangler charges for each item, you would find that the “Hero cargo pants are $19.50, a Hero jacket is $19.99, Hero shirts are $10.99.” Add up the costs of a belt, socks, trousers, shirts, and so on and you come up with a total price of $186 for the set, some $814 less than what the government (taxpayers) is paying. The final insult is that some of the uniform will be manufactured in Mexico.
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