USDA Workers Used Gov't Credit Cards to Buy Concert Tickets, Lingerie

FoxNews.com ^ | July 11, 2003

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Agriculture Department employees used government credit cards to pay tuition for bartender school, to buy Ozzy Osbourne concert tickets, lingerie and tattoos and to make a down payment on a car.

A random audit by the department's inspector general of just 300 of the 55,000 department employees who carry the government credit cards showed they had charged $7.7 million in personal purchases in a six-month period from Oct. 1, 2001, to March 31, 2002.

[Bella]

OH how interesting again...guess who's going to pay for this...

[Support Free Republic]

When Clinton was asked what he thought of foreign affairs he replied, "I don't know, I never had one." (As usual, he lied)

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[Mears]

Our tax dollars at work !!!

[Tacis]

Hey, these are mostly union employees!! They can do what they want without fear of political retaliation. And, besides, when the office asked for the money they paid it back. If the office didn't ask for reimbursement, well, that's their problem. These are government employees and have a tough enough time as it is. A little extra perq now and then helps build morale and, in general, prevents them from doing as much damage as they might otherwise do.

[Fizzie]

The results of this random sampling are outrageous! The cards apparently are issued to cover travel expenses. (The fact that 55,000 USDA employees ever travel during the course of their job description is outrageous in itself.)

This audit was done on a .5% sample, suggesting 25K per 6 month period fraud per person on avg. (This is not to suggest all 300 samples displayed misuse, but I have to use those figures for averages.) If the sample is even 50% representative, we are looking at 25K/yr fraud.

25.K/yr X 55,000 employees = $1.374 BILLION

And that's just the USDA.

We have no budget crisis. We have a management crisis.
We also need to take a serious look at why the culture of bureaucracy breeds dishonesty... and get rid of it. Honest working people who pour their tax money down this black hole can only bear the burden so long.

[Fizzie]

And while I'm still outraged....

The response of the USDA is to reprimand, suspend for a few days, or send to counseling?? Counseling?????

How about fire them and file criminal charges?

[Fpimentel]

I have access to company cards. I would never use them for my own personal use. I would risk getting fired or worse, getting arrested for THEFT. In the business world you must fill out expense reports and show a receipt. Also, there are limits to the amount you can charge on the cards. But I guess if its all in the name of "Da chilrin", it must be okay to WASTE MY TAX DOLLARS. AGGHHHH!

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Bump. And the vacation homes of congress and senate could feed the homeless people of America. I wish congress and senate were effected by downsizing and globalization with their jobs being moved and sold to China and Mexico. Or did Clinton do that and we are paying them to party in the Hamptons and fake their two party, "you have a choice." system?

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

[Dane]

How about fire them and file criminal charges?

Tommy Dashcle won't let them be fired. He will filabuster any attempt and obstruct in every way for his buddies, the unions.

[gulfcoast6]

This is nothing new, govt employees (including congressmen) misuse the credit cards on a regular basis.