Veterans Affairs Buying Spree on your Dime
Note: Politisite is a former employee of the VA Medical Center (pictured) in Augusta, Georgia. The motto was, “Putting Veterans First”. It appears that some employees have put themselves above Veterans. On the building, at the uptown VA, are the words of Lincoln, “To care for him who has borne the battle, and for his widow and orphan”. Many who work for the VA take this to heart.
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs employees last year racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in government credit-card bills at casino and luxury hotels, movie theaters and high-end retailers such as Sharper Image and Franklin Covey — and government auditors are investigating, citing past spending abuses.
All told, VA staff charged $2.6 billion to their government credit cards.
The Associated Press, through a Freedom of Information request, obtained the VA list of 3.1 million purchases made in the 2007 budget year. The list offers a detailed look into the everyday spending at the government’s second largest department.
By and large, it reveals few outward signs of questionable spending, with hundreds of purchases at prosthetic, orthopedic and other medical supply stores.
But there are multiple charges that have caught the eye of government investigators.
At least 13 purchases totaling $8,471 were charged at Sharper Image, a specialty store featuring high-tech electronics and gizmos such as robotic barking dogs. In addition, 19 charges worth $1,999.56 were made at Franklin Covey, which sells leather totes and planners geared toward corporate executives.
Source: foxnews.com via politisite
Tags: casino | franklin | freedom | Abuses | affairs | auditors | billion | bills | cards | Covey | CREDIT | credit-card | Crime | department | dollars | Employees | Government | high-end | Hotels | hundreds | image | information | investigating | LUXURY | medical | million | movie | off | World
