Showing posts with label GSA/General Services Administration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GSA/General Services Administration. Show all posts

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Trump To Shut Down All 8,000 EV Charging Ports At Federal Government Buildings

The Trump administration is shutting down EV chargers at all federal government buildings and is also expected to sell off the General Services Administration‘s (GSA) newly bought EVs.
GSA, which manages all federal government-owned buildings, also operates the federal buildings’ EV chargers. Federally owned EVs and federal employee-owned personal EVs are charged on those 8,000 charging ports.
The Verge reports it’s been told by a source that plans will be officially announced internally next week, and it’s seen an email that GSA has already sent to regional offices about the plans:
“As GSA has worked to align with the current administration, we have received direction that all GSA-owned charging stations are not mission-critical.”
The GSA is working on the timing of canceling current network contracts that keep the EV chargers operational. Once those contracts are canceled, the stations will be taken out of service and “turned off at the breaker,” the email reads. Other chargers will be turned off starting next week.
“Neither Government Owned Vehicles nor Privately Owned Vehicles will be able to charge at these charging stations once they’re out of service.”
Colorado Public Radio first reported yesterday that it had seen the email that was sent to the Denver Federal Center, which has 22 EV charging stations at 11 locations.
The Trump/Elon Musk administration has taken the GSA’s fleet electrification webpage offline entirely.
The Verge‘s source also said that the GSA will offload the EVs it bought during the Biden administration, although it’s unknown whether they’ll be sold or stored.


Also at the link is information regarding the pathetic automobile EV market.

Read much more at:
https://statelymcdanielmanor.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/your-electric-vehicle-update-for-02-26-25/#more-63269

Thursday, February 20, 2025

DOGE Finds ~ $40 Billion Linked To Government-Issued Credit Cards

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) pledged on Tuesday to “simplify” the federal government’s credit card program after it cost taxpayers nearly $40 billion last year.
“The US government currently has ~4.6M active credit cards/accounts, which processed ~90M unique transactions for  ~$40B of spend in FY24,” read an X post from the cost-cutting initiative’s official account. 
DOGE said it “will report back in 1 week” with its plan to untangle the system.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the federal government employed just over 3 million people in 2024 — meaning that more active credit cards are on file with federal government agencies than employees.
The General Services Administration, which runs the program, notes that government contractors may also be eligible for credit cards.
The spending data highlighted by DOGE is publicly available on the GSA website.
Since 1998, the GSA has managed the program, which issues credit cards linked to major banks to millions of employees at more than 250 federal agencies and Native American tribal governments.
GSA touts that its so-called “SmartPay” system enables government workers “to make purchases on behalf of the federal government in support of their agency’s mission” with “streamline[d] transaction processing.”
The agency website states that the current system results in an “increase” in “accountability” and is “efficient and effective” at identifying “fraud, waste, and abuse.”
For decades, the federal government has been plagued with scandals involving the use of taxpayer-funded credit cards.
Over the years, government watchdogs have found everything from adult entertainment to Lego toys to lavish, multi-course meals being charged to taxpayers.
A recent audit of the Department of Defense’s travel charge program found that 12% of credit card purchases on government-issued cards may have violated the Pentagon’s spending policies in 2023.
The DOD inspector general report, released last month, found $500,000 in transactions made at casinos, mobile app stores, bars, nightclubs and major sporting events, including the Super Bowl.
Another 3.9 million transactions, totaling $1.2 billion, were not even reviewed by supervisors, the IG found.
Under President Trump, DOGE aims to cut at least $1 trillion in government spending.

https://nypost.com/2025/02/19/us-news/doge-finds-nearly-40-billion-in-spending-linked-to-government-issued-credit-cards/?utm_campaign=nypost&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Random Political Memes/Cartoons Dump - 9.10.2025