I'll go with the "Sponge Bob" Forever stamp.
Posted on 04/11/2008 1:07:48 PM PDT by Cagey
Internal funds cover the $13,500 tab for filets and drinks, they say. Auditors call it 'abusive.'
WASHINGTON - When the U.S. Postal Service rang up a $13,500 tab at an Orlando steakhouse, it spared no expense during a five-hour meal that government investigators are calling "abusive" in its extravagance.
The order -- charged to government credit cards -- included more than $3,000 for drinks, more than $500 for shrimp cocktails and almost $900 for mini crab cakes, according to the Government Accountability Office, the investigate arm of Congress.
And then there's the steak.
"The better question is probably what they didn't order," GAO investigator Gregory Kutz said Wednesday. He counted 81 entrees -- including just about every kind of steak -- from the 2006 feast at Ruth's Chris Steak House on Sand Lake Road.
Related links GAO report (PDF) Postal Service $13,000 dinner = good PR for Ruth's Chris Filet, lingerie, Web dates -- with your tax dollars Stamps, stamps and more stamps Photos The GAO cited the Orlando meal as part of an overarching audit into abuse of government credit cards. The report, released this week, found 41 percent of purchases reviewed by the GAO from 2005 to 2006 failed "basic internal control standards."
These include safety measures such as getting proper authorization or having someone other than the cardholder review the expense. A lack of oversight led to abuses such as embezzling or odd expenses such as lingerie, electronic equipment and, in one case, $77,700 worth of expensive suits bought by the Pentagon.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
I'll go with the "Sponge Bob" Forever stamp.
In other news today, postal rates are expected to rise....
But U.S. Postal Service officials said it was unfair to compare the dinner with other abuses cited in the GAO report. "This is not taxpayer money. What we spend is what we make. The Postal Service is funded solely by our products and services," said Gerry McKiernan, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.
Mr. McKiernan needs to find another line of work if he can’t learn to talk the truth. That is insane..
When the government starts a “business,” this is what happens.
The USPS is in a dying business, but they want to protect all those cushy jobs, pensions, etc.
These guys said the taxpayer didn’t pay for it...when the USPS has a competitor for daily mail and asks my permission before they raise their prices, I”ll believe it.
As I recall, the USPS has run deficits in the past...who picked up the tab?
Why is the USPS trying to compete with UPS? How does that benefit the taxpayer?
It’s all about the JOBS.
I’d like to see these guys try to compete in the REAL world.
I hope that Congress will remember this the next time the Postmaster General comes in humbly asking for a stamp-rate increase because of “costs outside of our control”.
If he learned to tell the truth, he’d be out of a job...
If these idiots don’t pay the money back real quick...I’d suggest that senate ought to call them in and have a steroids-style cross-examination of these folks. I’ve worked around the Air Force for years...and each guy always pays his own bills. I can’t think of a single time that we ever charged it to the government...unless you want to count the chow hall where we ate some lousy chicken for $1.55.
Somebody wake up Chuck Grassley. This is about his speed.
What I didn’t get from the excerpt is that there were potential corporate clients there. This was a sales dinner. $160 per person still seems high but it’s not like it was just a bunch of postal employees going on a splurge.
What card were the strippers put on?
The Post Office has a monopoly on first class mail. Sending a letter that USPS deems not critical can earn a visit from Postal SWAT teams. And they claim it’s “their” money?
I wonder what Sean Hannity thinks of this?! LOL!
That's ridiculous and abusive
I just got done visiting my mother this weekend and we went out to eat at a fine eating establishment. The bill at the restaurant was almost $300 for four people plus the tip, about $85.00 per person
It was just as nice as place a Ruth Chris and we had drinks and a full course meal with appetizers. We all left full and happy
....and yes I picked up the tab
But the taxpayers didn't get the bill for Hannity's or mine.
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