U.S. government's expenses questioned

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. government's expenses questioned
Sat Oct 15, 2005 1:58 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Among the government's expenditures for hurricane relief last month was $223,000 for flip-flop sandals, three golf carts rented for $1,500 a month and playing cards, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The newspaper, basing its report on information provided by the Federal Emergency Management Administration and other federal agencies, said that most of the government's estimated $150 billion bill for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was for disaster aid checks to thousands of victims and gargantuan contracts for debris removal and housing.

But hordes of government workers armed with government credit cards descended upon the region, making a vast number of smaller purchases and often paying retail or even higher prices, the Times said.

Among the charges: $66,632.37 for a single sale at a Wal-Mart store in La Place, La.; $129,568.40 spent in 195 trips to Home Depot outlets by FEMA workers, with a least one case of a transaction that appeared to have been split up to avoid a cap of $250,000 on credit card purchases.
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http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-10-15T055846Z_01_MOL521490_RTRUKOC_0_US-FEMA.xml

[struggle4progress]

1. In Federal Buying Spree for Hurricane Relief, Agencies Often Paid Retail

By SCOTT SHANE and ERIC LIPTON
New York Times

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051015/ZNYT02/510150437