A new Defense Department audit found that Pentagon credit cards were misused for such things as gambling fees and escort services.
The report also noted that the government might not be stuck with all the charges, and that the employees that incurred many of these expenditures will be required to pay back the costs.
A government official speculated that some of the charges may have been made by employees trying to hide their behavior from their wives.
Sen. Chuck Grassley said that the charges were discovered by an audit required by the new Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act, signed by the president in 2012.
Grassley said that the law he sponsored is aimed at stopping credit card abuse. “What I hope is that my reforms that became law have been implemented well and that agencies and auditors are using the reforms to catch problems,” Senator Grassley said.
This waste is only a small part of the waste that occurs in Washington every year, but stopping any waste is important.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter: @warnerthuston. Email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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