Transportation Security Agency - the newest spending boondog
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JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Again, before asking anyone to send even on more dime into the Government to keep our budget balanced, FIX THIS CRAP.
TSA (Transportation Security Agency), the folks responsible for keeping us safe while flying, taking the train, etc., apparently are at their best when they are spending tax-payer money.
Article originally from Washington Post, found on MSNBC site. Headline linked.
Probe targets overspending at TSA
Workers dropped $500,000 on artwork, silk plants
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Updated: 1:16 a.m. ET April 20, 2005
The Transportation Security Administration has failed to stop excessive spending, raising concerns of "unethical and possibly illegal activities" by employees who spent $500,000 on artwork and silk plants for a new operations center, according to a government report released yesterday.
The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general blamed TSA management for allowing "waste and abuse" in a $19 million project to build an operations center in Herndon. The facility is a communication center for the agency and monitors all transportation security incidents.
The report is the latest to find lavish spending at the three-year-old agency. In 2002, the agency was criticized soon after its creation for spending $410,000 on the executive office suite of its first leader. In 2003, the agency threw itself a $461,000 birthday party and awards banquet to boost morale among screeners, an expense the inspector general called "excessive." Other government reports have noted a lack of control in contracts that ballooned by hundreds of millions of dollars to companies such as Boeing Co. and NCS Pearson.
In the most recent incident, the TSA said that it discovered unusual payments to vendors from some of its employees and reported them to the inspector general. "TSA has already put in place a new management structure to strengthen its acquisition program to ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars," TSA spokesman Mark O. Hatfield Jr. said in a written statement.
Working under a self-imposed deadline in 2003 and with little oversight, some TSA employees spared little expense to outfit the new Transportation Security Operations Center, ignored federal contracting rules and appeared to conceal their spending, according to the inspector general's report. When the center opened in September 2003, it included a 4,200-square-foot gym for 79 employees that cost $350,000; seven kitchens outfitted with numerous appliances, including Sub-Zero refrigerators costing $3,000 each; and large offices -- even for lower-level employees -- equipped with cable television at a cost of $63,099 for three years.
An unidentified manager at the center steered much of the contract work to an unnamed tool company, which was encouraged to provide office supplies and artwork for the facility even though the company had little experience in that business, the report said. The manager violated the TSA's ethics rules and other federal rules, the inspector general said, and "may have violated the requirements to be impartial and not use his public position for private gain." The inspector general referred the manager, who stepped down from his position in October 2003 to take a job with the tool company, to the Justice Department.
... much more at linked article
The only thing that would have made this an even better waste of government money would have been if Senator Byrd (D-WV) had found some way to move the headquarters out to West Virginia as he has attempted to with several other government agencies.
Again, as with many of us here, I'm tired of reading the same carping for raising taxes when I know crap this is on-going. The government literally wastes money like it's going out of style. There may not be enough waste to balance the budget completely, but if we really tried, I'd be surprised if we couldn't cut 25 - 35% out of many budgets in the government. Yes, people would have to use older equipment longer. They'd have to use less efficient older systems and methods to get something done for a while, but then they wouldn't be wasting money building new IT systems that don't work after installation (think FBI, FAA or any number of other agencies with those problems).
TSA (Transportation Security Agency), the folks responsible for keeping us safe while flying, taking the train, etc., apparently are at their best when they are spending tax-payer money.
Article originally from Washington Post, found on MSNBC site. Headline linked.
Probe targets overspending at TSA
Workers dropped $500,000 on artwork, silk plants
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Updated: 1:16 a.m. ET April 20, 2005
The Transportation Security Administration has failed to stop excessive spending, raising concerns of "unethical and possibly illegal activities" by employees who spent $500,000 on artwork and silk plants for a new operations center, according to a government report released yesterday.
The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general blamed TSA management for allowing "waste and abuse" in a $19 million project to build an operations center in Herndon. The facility is a communication center for the agency and monitors all transportation security incidents.
The report is the latest to find lavish spending at the three-year-old agency. In 2002, the agency was criticized soon after its creation for spending $410,000 on the executive office suite of its first leader. In 2003, the agency threw itself a $461,000 birthday party and awards banquet to boost morale among screeners, an expense the inspector general called "excessive." Other government reports have noted a lack of control in contracts that ballooned by hundreds of millions of dollars to companies such as Boeing Co. and NCS Pearson.
In the most recent incident, the TSA said that it discovered unusual payments to vendors from some of its employees and reported them to the inspector general. "TSA has already put in place a new management structure to strengthen its acquisition program to ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars," TSA spokesman Mark O. Hatfield Jr. said in a written statement.
Working under a self-imposed deadline in 2003 and with little oversight, some TSA employees spared little expense to outfit the new Transportation Security Operations Center, ignored federal contracting rules and appeared to conceal their spending, according to the inspector general's report. When the center opened in September 2003, it included a 4,200-square-foot gym for 79 employees that cost $350,000; seven kitchens outfitted with numerous appliances, including Sub-Zero refrigerators costing $3,000 each; and large offices -- even for lower-level employees -- equipped with cable television at a cost of $63,099 for three years.
An unidentified manager at the center steered much of the contract work to an unnamed tool company, which was encouraged to provide office supplies and artwork for the facility even though the company had little experience in that business, the report said. The manager violated the TSA's ethics rules and other federal rules, the inspector general said, and "may have violated the requirements to be impartial and not use his public position for private gain." The inspector general referred the manager, who stepped down from his position in October 2003 to take a job with the tool company, to the Justice Department.
... much more at linked article
The only thing that would have made this an even better waste of government money would have been if Senator Byrd (D-WV) had found some way to move the headquarters out to West Virginia as he has attempted to with several other government agencies.
Again, as with many of us here, I'm tired of reading the same carping for raising taxes when I know crap this is on-going. The government literally wastes money like it's going out of style. There may not be enough waste to balance the budget completely, but if we really tried, I'd be surprised if we couldn't cut 25 - 35% out of many budgets in the government. Yes, people would have to use older equipment longer. They'd have to use less efficient older systems and methods to get something done for a while, but then they wouldn't be wasting money building new IT systems that don't work after installation (think FBI, FAA or any number of other agencies with those problems).