Ernst Blasts Feds’ Wasteful ‘Turtles on a Treadmill’ Study as Senate Panel OKs Her Anti-SWAG Bill 5:3

An image used by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in a speech on the floor of the Senate supporting her Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2020, on March 11, 2020. Courtesy Sen. Ernst

WASHINGTON—Federal officials at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes for Health (NIH) spent an unknown number of tax dollars to put turtles, turkeys, and other animals on treadmills to study how fast they can go, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

“To no one’s surprise, it turns out turtles are really, really slow,” Ernst told her Senate colleagues March 11 during a floor speech commemorating Sunshine Week.