Government Science Frozen by Credit Card Freeze! – Watts Up With That?

Guest “DOGE, Baby, DOGE!” by David Middleton

Federal Science Hamstrung by DOGE’s Credit Card Spending Limit

The agency froze most spending above $1. Government researchers now struggle to carry out basic functions of their jobs.

By Emily Mullin and Zoë Schiffer, WIRED
03.11.2025

Last month, President Donald Trump’s administration placed a $1 spending limit on most government-issued credit cards that federal employees use to cover travel and work expenses. The impacts are already widely felt.

At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, scientists aren’t able to order equipment used to repair ships and radars. At the Food and Drug Administration, laboratories are experiencing delays in ordering basic supplies. At the National Park Service, employees are canceling trips to oversee crucial maintenance work. And at the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration, employees worry that mission-critical projects could be stalled. In many cases, employees are already unable to carry out the basic functions of their job.

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The credit card program allows federal workers to bypass the typical procurement process required to buy goods and services. A 2002 report from the Department of Commerce said that, “by avoiding the formal procurement process, GSA estimates the annual savings to be $1.2 billion.” It also enables federal employees to avoid paying sales tax on expenses that the government is exempt from.

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The spending limits reflect Musk’s belief in zero-based budgeting. After he purchased Twitter, he slashed the budget to zero and forced employees to justify every expense. He also froze people’s corporate credit cards.

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Emily Mullin is a staff writer at WIRED, covering biotechnology.

Zoë Schiffer oversees coverage of business and Silicon Valley at WIRED.

Kate Knibbs and Aarian Marshall contributed to this reporting.

UNDARK

I’ve worked in the oil & gas industry since 1981, including a six-year stint as Vice President of Exploration for Company #4, I’ve never had a corporate Mastercard, Visa, American Express or other general purpose credit card. Back in the early days of my career, companies often issued airline and rental car credit cards, specifically for corporate travel. However, for the vast majority of my career, I had to pay for my own travel expenses and then submit an expense report for reimbursement.

This bit here is simply preposterous:

The credit card program allows federal workers to bypass the typical procurement process required to buy goods and services. A 2002 report from the Department of Commerce said that, “by avoiding the formal procurement process, GSA estimates the annual savings to be $1.2 billion.” It also enables federal employees to avoid paying sales tax on expenses that the government is exempt from.

This is from the actual report:

A U.S. government purchase card is an internationally accepted credit card issued by individual
contractors and available to personnel in all federal agencies under a single General Services
Administration (GSA) contract. The purpose of Purchase Card Programs is to minimize the paperwork needed to make, with proper authorization, purchases of up to $25,000. According to GSA, in 2000, the cards were used for more than 23 million transactions worth $12.3 billion. By avoiding the formal procurement process, GSA estimates the annual savings to be $1.2 billion.

Although they provide efficiency and savings to the government, Purchase Card Programs are high-risk because they allow the same individual to order, pay for, and receive goods and services. This offers the potential for fraud and abusive and improper transactions if not carefully monitored.

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A Practical Guide for Reviewing Government Purchase Card Programs

It’s a 23 year old guidebook for reviewing government credit card use. There’s no documentation to support the claimed $1.2 billion in annual savings from “by avoiding the formal procurement process.” In the private sector, it’s very easy to get fired for “avoiding the formal procurement process.” The purpose of a “formal procurement process” is to strictly adhere to budgets.

This CNBC article is from 2014:

Widespread Abuse of Government Charge Cards

Published Tue, May 6 2014

For years, the federal government has struggled to provide sufficient oversight over its government credit card program—and a string of new audits reveals that it is still an ongoing and costly problem.

The whole point of government credit cards is to streamline the federal procurement process—but without proper supervision over what is being purchased—millions of dollars are misused and abused by federal employees.

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The widespread abuse even prompted Congress to pass legislation in 2012 that required federal agencies to review their purchase card programs. New guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget even warn that workers caught improperly charging their cards could face dismissal.

Regardless, the problem persists and auditors still say some agencies continue failing to conduct reviews, leaving more money vulnerable to waste and abuse.

[…]

Once again, the competence of government IT systems as well as the managers in charge of spending taxpayer dollars are in question.

—By Brianna Ehley of The Fiscal Times

CNBC

From 2015…

Former DEA Employee Pleads Guilty to Credit Card Fraud Scheme

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) employee pleaded guilty today to defrauding the government out of more than $113,000 using fraudulently issued government credit cards, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Tompkins of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General in Washington, D.C. 

Keenya Meshell Banks, 42, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow of the District of Maryland to one count of wire fraud.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 29, 2015.  

According to her plea agreement, Banks was employed by the DEA as a Program Manager, and was responsible for the approval and issuance of government credit cards to DEA employees.  While serving in that role, Banks admitted that she submitted dozens of fake credit card applications to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for fictitious DEA employees, using names and identifying information of individuals who did not work at the DEA.  In at least one instance, however, Banks submitted the identifying information of an actual DEA employee.  Through this scheme, Banks obtained at least 32 fraudulent credit cards, which she then used to withdraw more than $113,000 from ATMs in Maryland and Northern Virginia.  As part of her plea agreement, Banks agreed to forfeit the proceeds she received as a result of the scheme and to pay full restitution. 

The case is being investigated by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and Justin Weitz of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom of the  District of Maryland.

Updated February 5, 2025

US DOJ

From 2025…

Troops used government cards to pay for casinos, online gaming and Super Bowl parties

One Air Force cardholder took out over $10,000 in cash against their government travel card on 23 trips to a casino. Still, compliance is better than a decade ago.

Matt White

Posted on Jan 27, 2025

Military service members charged at least $500,000 on gambling, drinking, nightclubs and online games to their government travel charge cards in 2023 without triggering alarms among finance officials, an inspector general report found.

The report, “Audit of the DoD Government Travel Charge Card Program: The Visa IntelliLink Compliance Management System” reviewed the effectiveness of the system, known as VICM. The investigation found holes in the watchdog program, which allowed fraud and unauthorized spending to slip past officials. Many were minor, like paying for online gaming apps or drinks on holidays or during the Super Bowl, while others kept up fraudulent charges for months. 

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Task and Purpose

While government credit card abuse and fraud are a problem, the use of the credit cards to avoid “the formal procurement process” is probably much worse.

This isn’t a coincidence:

The spending limits reflect Musk’s belief in zero-based budgeting. After he purchased Twitter, he slashed the budget to zero and forced employees to justify every expense.