Homeland Security Department Under Fire for Financial Abuses

According to a draft of a report to be released by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative and auditing arm of Congress, the Homeland Security Department last year wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal money. More than 10,000 Homeland Security employees are given purchase cards for expenses related to their jobs, but they are given almost no training on how to use the cards. They are given little or no supervision and the guidelines they are given for spending are different for each agency in the department.

As a result of the lax security, employees spent money irresponsibly on a shocking variety of non-emergency, non-security items. More than 2,000 sets of dog booties were purchased at a cost of $68,442 for the dogs assisting in recovery efforts along the Gulf, but officials decided not to use them and now they’re sitting in storage. The Customs and Border Protection agency bought 37 black Helly Hansen designer rain jackets ($2,500) to use in a firing range that isn’t even open when it’s raining. A golf an tennis resort in St. Simons Island, Georgia, was reserved for training 32 newly hired attorneys ($2,395) even though a federal law enforcement training center is located just a few minutes away. Three portable shower units were bought from a contractor for $71,170 for Customs and Border Protection, even though similar showers could have been purchased for a third of the price.

Customs and Border Protection bought military MRE (meals-ready-to-eat) packs over the Internet for $464,586 rather than contracting through the Pentagon, which is standard procedure. In addition, a dozen boats bought for $208,000 by Home Security employees are missing, as well as more than 107 laptop computers, 22 printers, and two GPS units worth $170,000.

After Hurricane Katrina hit last fall, the spending limit on the purchase cards was raised to $250,000 for emergencies. The department spent $435 million last year using the purchase cards—as compared to $296 million the year before, according to Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke. But, Knocke said, only a small percentage of the 1.1 million purchases were improper, and about 70 employees have been disciplined. "Comparatively, we're talking about a small number of bad apples," Knocke said. He added that his department will be creating and enforcing new spending guidelines soon that will ensure strict supervision of purchases. Violators may have their cards seized and be required to repay expenses and be disciplined. "We take very seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars," Knocke said. Sure they will, now that they’ve been caught.