There are just some things we take for granted. Pop into a bathroom at a national park, surely you’ll find toilet paper in the stall. Right? Don’t bet on it. A new directive from the federal government says Park Service employees with government credit cards can now only charge up to $1, which seems laughable. And sometimes that toilet paper gets purchased with a Park Service credit card. Look out, there’s more involved than just TP.
Interior Department whacks Park Service credit card limits, other agencies, too
In an abrupt and surprise move, the Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service as well as several other public lands agencies, has suspended normal spending authority and travel approvals. The news comes from documents posted by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The new edicts prevent most government purchase cards from being used for expenses more than one dollar, effectively rendering them useless.
Under the new limits, which took effect last week on February 25, for all Interior units:
- The new spending threshold limits all purchases to $1.
- The National Park Service has confined future purchase authority to one person per region, each of which includes large administrative units that often span an entire state or multiple states.
- The Bureau of Land Management has designated only two purchasers at headquarters as the “primary purchasers” for the entire agency.
“National security, public safety” exempt—but not maintenance and repair
The new restrictions make exceptions for expenditures that “support national security, public safety, and immigration enforcement.” However, these exceptions do not appear to cover purchases for maintenance and repair, for example, unless they are imminently life-threatening. Here’s a scenario: Plumbing leak develop? Can’t fix it without the parts, so just turn off the water and lock the door.
Moreover, the decision-making authority about even the most minor purchases has been removed from individual parks, refuges, and field offices and elevated to offices hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of miles away. In the interim, the only certainty appears to be uncertainty, as managers scramble for clarification as to how to apply these new rules on a day-to-day basis.
Need parts? Ask for permission from the guy several states away
According to a story carried by SFGATE, park service workers with government credit cards can purchase supplies for projects ranging from $2 to $10,000. But is there a danger in all of this? Employees using cards have always had to follow rules when using Uncle Sam’s plastic. They needed prior approval for expenses and had to file detailed receipts for them.
Now purchasing approval will have to come from remote offices. In the National Park Service Pacific West Region, only two people will have authority to allow purchases. This region oversees 65 national parks, monuments, and historic sites across eight states and three U.S. territories. It has a workforce of more than 5,000 employees.
Park Service credit card limits? One Park Service worker summed it up in comments to SFGATE: “We order all of our parts and supplies with credit cards,” said a Park Service maintenance worker, who was also granted anonymity to protect their employment. “I think the public needs to know that if they are going to visit a national park that they should bring their own toilet paper.”
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