Federal workers w/ govt credit cards now have $250,000 limit - CNN

[highplainsdem]

Miles O'Brien and one of their business reporters were discussing this, the concern about the lack of oversight on federal employees and the potential for rip-offs. Said something about watching for FEMA employees arriving in stretch limousines. The limit used to be $15,000, but I guess the Bushies didn't see that as generous enough for their political appointees.

[Don Claybrook]

1. ALL federal workers?

They weren't just referring to cabinet secretaries and so on? You're saying any federal worker with a credit card has a quarter million dollar limit on the card?

Why am I surprised at this? I shouldn't be, not by now.

[highplainsdem]

3. They were joking about FEMA employees in stretch limousines,

so it apparently isn't just cabinet secretaries.

This is just obscene, especially juxtaposed with the $2,000-max-per-household FEMA debit cards that evacuees are reportedly allowed to have only after signing a waiver saying they won't ask for more government assistance.

Paul Krugman did a brilliant column years ago on how this administration is stealing on such a grand scale people would hardly be able to comprehend it. This new credit card limit sounds like more looting of the country by the Bush Gang.

[htuttle]

2. Gotta make up for the collapse of consumer spending

[EstimatedProphet]

4. I used to have one. It doesn't work that way.

Yeah, it had a very high limit (like $25,000), but it was watchdogged so hard it couldn't be abused anyway. 1) EVERY expense on the card had to be justified every month, no exceptions, and 2) without purchasing authority on the card, and most people don't have it, it was only usable for travel-related expenses. Hotels, restaurants, gas, period. As an example of how strictly they are managed, once I was in the airport waiting for an early flight, and I tried to get a cinnamon roll for breakfast, and was refused because I went to a newspaper stand which wasn't considered a legitimate type of store.
My gripe was that the charge card companies had the governemnt by the balls as far as card management is concerned. Their attitude was that any use of the card beyond their narrow range of acceptability, even using it by accident (like using it by mistake instead of your own) is an automatic attempt to defraud the government. There's several bureaus that now have a zero-tolerance policy with the cards, and anything they define as unofficial use is grounds for automatic termination.

[bigbrother05]

5. Think it refers to Contracting Officials

The normal travel cards most gov't employees have hasn't changed. There are purchasing/contracting people that had cards with $25,000/month limits that used them to buy commonly available things (office supplies, normal building maintenance materials, etc.) that didn't make sense to warehouse locally. Probably bumping up the limits now to handle the surge in things needed during a rebuilding effort. With proper safeguards, local buyers could get stuff for a reasonable cost without the long delay (as well as administrative overhead costs) that the normal procurement cycle would produce. It's been estimated that it cost $50+ every time someone touches a purchase request, cut out a couple of steps and the savings from bulk buying are erased.

[MaineDem]

6. Is MBNA making money on this?

I wondered about this with the debit cards the victims are getting.

I assume the credit card company issuing these will get something for their "trouble", right?

I don't know if it's MBNA; just taking a guess.