Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, took some ribbing this morning from fellow JFAC members for his far-reaching trimming in the Division of Veterans Affairs budget, which included eliminating the replacement of a van that had 125,000 miles on it. Eskridge said the division assured him they could make it last another year. He also said he only OK'd the replacement of a lawnmower "because the old one blew up." Various other JFAC members then started calling Eskridge "Rep. Scrooge" and "Rep. Esk-scrooge." But then it surfaced that the budget included some new kitchen equipment, including a can opener. Eskridge said he didn't want to micro-manage the agency to the extent of checking up on the can opener - but he took ribbing again when it came out that the can opener cost $600. Apparently, it's a big industrial model, for opening big cans.

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