Washington, D.C.- Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) applauded today’s hearing on the misuse of the General Service’s Administration (GSA) SmartPay program.  The House Committee on Government Reform released the results of a study showing that Pentagon employees have been on a massive taxpayer-funded shopping spree.  

“This is an outrageous example of waste, fraud and abuse in the government,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said. “Wasting valuable defense resources does not enhance national security.”

Since the early 1990’s, the Pentagon has been issuing Department of Defense (DOD) credit cards to reduce the red tape associated with small purchases in a valiant attempt to save tax dollars.  Currently, more than 1.8 million Pentagon employees are entrusted with these cards.  However, Pentagon officials have made it easy for employees to abuse the system with zero accountability for their actions.  Questionable purchases included make-up, Nordstrom gift certificates, pet food, Palm Pilots, and jewelry.  Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) recently noted that giving credit cards to Pentagon employees “is like giving people keys to the federal treasury.” 

According to the GSA study, Pentagon employees used these credit cards used for 10 million purchases, totaling $9 billion last year alone.  One bank has been forced to write off $59 million in fraudulent credit card expenditures. 

“Defending our country should begin with defending our tax dollars,” Schatz added.  “Reform of the Department of Defense must start with basic financial accountability and Congress should provide the resources necessary to prevent, track and uncover fraud while holding the perpetrators fully liable.”

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government.