Cars and the Feds Who Drive Them

Oh boy. Here's more fodder for Chuck Grassley. The Associated Press reports that General Services Administration data shows that the federal government has 642,233 cars in its fleet, and operating them costs $3.4 billion a year.

Now for the factoids that already no doubt have garnered the attention of the senior senator from Iowa:

• At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, fuel consumption and inventory are down, yet overall costs of operating the fleet are up, and officials don't know why.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt's personal driver is paid $90,000 a year.
• Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has two drivers at her disposal.

I think righteous indignation and hearings are in these agencies' and officials' future.

Update: I originally wrote that the AP story was based on a Government Accountability Office report. My apologies for the mistake.