[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14157]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             THE MUFFIN MAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, do you know the muffin man, the 
muffin man, the muffin man? Yes, I know the muffin man, but he doesn't 
live on Drury Lane. He lives at the Department of Justice on Justice 
Lane and is growing rich on selling $16 muffins at Justice Lane.
  The Department of Justice's inspector general states that at only 10 
conferences the Department of Justice spent almost $500,000 on 
refreshments. That's $50,000 per conference for just refreshments. And 
that includes $4,200 for 250 muffins.
  Madam Speaker, how come these critters cost $16 apiece? These are 
some high-dollar muffins that the Department of Justice is buying for 
its refreshments at conferences. Where do you even find a muffin that 
costs $16? I've never seen one. Maybe they're shipped in from a special 
bakery in France with some secret ingredient. My favorite bakery, RAO's 
in Beaumont, Texas, tells me these things should be about $2 apiece.
  So why is the Justice Department with all those fancy lawyers letting 
the muffin man get away with this price gouging? Because the government 
doesn't care. It lives high on the hog with taxpayers' money.
  So, Madam Speaker, do you know the muffin man, the muffin man? I know 
the muffin man, and the government should quit spending somebody else's 
money to keep the muffin man rolling in the dough.
  And that's just the way it is.

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