Uncle Sam takes the credit for high living

US: Surgical enhancements, a mounted deer head, designer briefcases and pricey wine are among goods improperly charged to US…

US: Surgical enhancements, a mounted deer head, designer briefcases and pricey wine are among goods improperly charged to US government credit cards by employees, according to a report released yesterday.

The General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, said in a report that hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved each year if there were stricter controls on the use of government credit cards.

The government-wide purchase card program began in 1989 with the aim of streamlining federal buying and cutting down on processing costs.

Card use was initially restricted to procurement personnel but later expanded. From 1994 to 2003, the GAO said the use of government purchase cards increased from $1 billion to $16 billion. In most instances bills are paid directly by the government.

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GAO audits of purchase cards found ineffective management, oversight and weak internal controls at the departments of agriculture, army, navy, air force, interior, justice, transportation and veterans affairs.

"(This makes) agencies vulnerable to fraudulent, improper and abusive purchase card activity," said the report, released at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. In one case, the Defence Department's inspector general found a navy employee used a government card to buy two cars, surgical enhancements and a motorbike. The cardholder made 59 fraudulent purchases worth more than $132,000.

In another case, a Defence Department employee used a purchase card to charge $1.7 million in fraudulent purchases from a fictitious company set up by her brother.

Excuses for buying items were often novel. Asked about a mounted deer head, auditors were told it was to educate airmen about the local deer population. In another case, $200 of Lego toy robots were bought to "teach navy engineers about robotics".