May 5, 2008
NASA Credit Cards: Christmas Trees, t-shirts, and iPods
Review shows NASA employees bought seemingly personal items, AP
"Among the transactions questioned by NASA investigators last year were 393 charges to a graphics support vendor totaling more than $235,000 - so much money that not bidding the purchases competitively may have been illegal, documents show. "That should send up a red flag," said Scott Amey, general counsel of the Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog organization. "You have to ask: Is somebody trying to get around competitive requirements?"
NASA employees big spenders on government credit, Houston Chronicle
"NASA employees have made numerous charges for seemingly personal items, including custom-engraved iPods and a Christmas tree. About $270 worth of T-shirts and hats purchased from a NASA gift shop were justified by one cardholder as "safety attire," and one former civil servant pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges last year after spending more than $157,000 on things including jewelry, electronics and an air conditioner for her home."
Report on NASA ignites call for credit card crackdown, Houston Chronicle
"Congressional supporters of a bill meant to curb government credit card abuse called Monday for stricter sanctions -- including termination and jail time -- against employees who misuse the cards at NASA, as well as other agencies."
Posted by Keith Cowing at May 5, 2008 9:02 AM
Simply outstanding news, isn't it?
At a time when all of us who care are fighting like never before to keep the politicians from taking away the insufficient money we have for our space program,along comes this ilk of slack-jawed yokel.
Every day is Christmas, and nobody matters but me, because I have a credit card!
We've paid a price for every dollar that we've managed to shoehorn into an underfunded space program for the last 30 years. I don't like it, but the most common and visceral measure of that price which we have paid is in the blood of our friends.
Morons like these credit card abusers cheapen the memory of those who have paid so much for what we've accomplished.
They make our fight longer, and more difficult in the face of opposition almost as sightless and visionless as the people who have abused the trust that's given to them. They have given everyone else a black eye in the bargain.
I don't believe in capital punishment. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy five minutes alone in a room with these crooks. One black eye deserves another, I say.
Posted by: Roci at May 6, 2008 5:06 AM