Attn: Washington correspondents 

            A Government Accountability Office report released yesterday (April 9) says that federal workers sometimes use their government-issued credit cards a little bit too liberally. In as many as 41% of the transactions involving purchases of goods and services below $2,500, basic internal control standards were not followed. And in as many as 48% of the transactions above $2,500, the agencies could not verify the purchases were properly authorized. 

            It would have taken a herculean effort to review every government credit card transaction during the 12-month period from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, when over $17 billion worth of goods and services were charged by federal workers.  

            GAO auditors went to the five banks that process government credit card transactions—Bank of America, Citibank, Mellon Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and U.S. Bank—and applied data mining technology to select a statistical sample.  

            The agencies were asked to provide documentation for the selected transactions to prove that the purchases had been properly authorized, and that the delivery of the goods or services went to an individual other than the cardholder who signed for it.  

            In their limited review, GAO investigators uncovered numerous examples of fraud and abuse. Government credit cards, GAO said in its report, were used to “subscribe to Internet dating services, buy video iPods for personal use, and pay for lavish dinners that included top-shelf liquor.” They even found a U.S. Forest Service employee who used a government-issued credit card to embezzle $642,000 over a six-year period, leading to an arrest and a 21-month prison sentence. 

            Much of the fraud and abuse is preventable, GAO said, but the General Services Administration which administers the credit card program claims it lacks the authority “to issue guidance and reminders encouraging agencies to document independent receipt and acceptance of items purchased with a government purchase card.”  

Synopsis * Full report (61 pages)

Old, broken down football players

Attn: Sports writers 

            The Congressional Research Service, in a report released yesterday (April 9) by House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), says Congress needs to enact legislation to help retired National Football League players cope with injuries and disabilities that follow them into retirement. 

            The 144-page report examines the types and severities of injuries and health problems suffered by current and past NFL players, and concludes that their injuries are often ignored while they are playing and their disabilities are unacknowledged when they are retired. 

            The NFL and the NFL Players Association do not even collect data on the number or percentage of players who retire because of injury, the CRS report said. 

            According to the report, 1,052 players applied for “line of duty” or “total and permanent” disability benefits between 1993 and mid-2007. Of them, 428 were approved, 576 were denied, and 48 are pending. The approval rate for the decided applications is just 42%. 

            Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), who requested the CRS study with Conyers, said the report “clearly demonstrates that the NFL and NFLPA need to make serious efforts to collect data on player injuries, and eliminate the conflict of interest by team doctors who place the financial interests of their teams ahead of players’ health.”

News tips: 

Global Exchange:
Cargill, Archer Daniel Midland lobbyists oppose farm bill provision that would ban importation of slave labor or child labor products 

Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW):
FEC complaint filed against U.S. Term Limits for sponsoring ad in support of a U.S. Senate candidate 

American Academy of Neurology:
Diabetes in mid-life is linked to increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Newspaper Association of America:
Newspaper-owned websites earned more than $2 billion in online advertising in 2007 

National Security Archive:
Air Force finally releases documents in 18-year-long FOIA legal struggle; report provides more evidence that nuclear weapons use was considered during Vietnam War 

U.S. Food & Drug Administration:
Hazardous levels of selenium found in samples of “Total Body Formula” and “Total Body Mega Formula”