WASHINGTON — Americans love their cars, and so apparently does Uncle Sam. He’s got 642,233 of them.
Operating those vehicles — maintenance, leases and fuel — cost taxpayers $3.4 billion last year, according to General Services Administration data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press.
While officials say they need the vehicles to do their jobs, watchdogs say mismanagement of the government fleet is costing millions of dollars a year in wasteful spending:
• At Housing and Urban Development, fuel consumption and inventory are down, yet costs have risen sharply; the agency doesn’t know why.
• The Interior Department was told by its own watchdog that it should cut its inventory, but instead, it’s added hundreds of vehicles.
Add to that the cost of chauffeurs for the highly placed. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has two drivers. Their salaries totaled more than $128,000 last year. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt’s driver earns about $90,000 a year.
The government owns or leases sedans, SUVs, trucks, limousines and ambulances for more than three dozen agencies, the U.S. military and the Postal Service. Are they all really necessary?
Saving taxpayer dollars should be a priority, says Washington-based Citizens Against Government Waste.
“It’s critical use or necessary use versus ‘well, we’ve got the money, let’s go out and buy some more cars,’ ” said Tom Schatz, president of the group.
