NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) – The Coast Guard will reimburse the federal government $227.23 to clear up appearances of impropriety surrounding a Coast Guard Academy official who spent taxpayer money to brew beer for school social functions, a spokeswoman said.
Coast Guard Spokeswoman Angela McArdle said an audit released Wednesday by a U.S. Senate panel that oversees the Homeland Security Department highlighted a purchase that was technically legal but did not represent a prudent use of funds.
“There is no more beer brewing going on at the Coast Guard Academy,” she said.
She confirmed a report in the New York Post that one of the beers had a label with a picture of Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice, the Coast Guard Academy superintendent.
The Post reported that beer was called “The Admiral Amber Ale” and the audit found that the school spent about $1,000 to make 532 bottles of beer.
Coast Guard officials originally told auditors that the brewing kit saved money over buying alcohol for official social functions, a claim that auditors said did not account for labor costs.
“Absent the purported cost savings and the dubious need for the government to brew its own alcohol, the purchase of the kit and the beer brewing activity itself fall short of prudent use of taxpayer dollars,” the audit found.
McArdle said about $800 of the questioned spending came from a Coast Guard foundation and was not government money.
AP-ES-07-20-06 1618EDT
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