Federal employees' credit abuse cited

WASHINGTON -- 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, the investigative arm of Congress, said in a report that hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved each year with stricter controls on the use of government credit cards.

The governmentwide purchase card program began in 1989 with the aim of streamlining federal buying. 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.

GAO audits of purchase cards found ineffective management, lack of oversight, and weak internal controls at the departments of Agriculture, Army, Navy, Air Force, Interior, Justice, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.

In one case, the Defense 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 improper purchases worth more than $132,000.

''Examples like this one demonstrate the need for better controls over the purchase card program and demonstrates why it is vital to give agencies the tools they need to control fraud and abuse," said US Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, in a statement.