NEW: Trump Vanity Projects Slated to Cost $1.8+ Billion; Committee Tool Shows Alternative Uses to Deliver for the American People

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee - Minority issued a report today with new calculations that find that President Trump's vanity projects - including construction of the new White House ballroom and the no-bid contract to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, among others - are expected to cost more than $1.8 billion. Using this total, the Committee created an Interactive Cost Calculator where users can explore how this $1.8 billion could instead be spent to lower costs and help the American people.

Key examples from the report of what $1.8 billion for Trump's vanity projects could instead pay for:

• More than 600 million school lunches
• About 12 million people's electric bills for one month
• The medical expenditures for more than 88,000 veterans for one year
• The hiring of more than 27,000 school teachers or fire fighters
• More than 35 million tanks of gas for a typical sedan

While President Trump pledged not to use taxpayer dollars for construction of his White House ballroom, he then broke that promise by using funds for the Secret Service to pay for parts of the ballroom. He also continues to oversee new projects and events - including his proposed Triumphal Arch, the retrofit of the new Qatari Air Force One plane, and more - that require considerable funding.

Click here to read the Committee's full report and click here to explore the Interactive Cost Calculator.

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