Army balks at controls on use of credit cards

It's not the type of story the Pentagon likes to hear: Army regulars going off and buying personal items -- Victoria's Secret lingerie, fine china, cigars, wine, even a $2,250 tree -- with government-issued credit cards.

But when the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, proposed one way of cutting down on the abuse, the Army balked.

The GAO idea was for folks to get approval before using government plastic. While the Army accepted other recommendations, it rejected that one.

In response to the GAO recommendations, Mark J. Lumer, the acting director of the Army Contracting Agency, wrote: "Broad application of advance approval of micro purchases ... will add costs to the process without a comparable reduction in risk."

Which raises the question: Will that be cash or plastic?

Young represents Bush at European air show

Rep. C.W. Bill Young is in Europe this weekend to represent President Bush at the annual Farnborough Air Show.

The event showcases the newest gadgets and aircraft being used in civil and military aviation around the world. The Largo Republican was in Normandy, France, on Friday and planned to travel to the air show in England on Saturday. He will give a speech on behalf of Bush at the opening ceremonies.

"This is where the world brings its greatest technology," he said from Normandy. "We get a chance to see the Russian technology, the European technology. It's a real good chance to assess where we are and what the rest of the world has."

Group wants charitable giving disclosed better

If trying to read a corporate balance sheet these days is like looking into a muddy pond, trying to divine a company's charitable spending is like looking into the pond at night.

Public companies are required to divulge little about what they give to charity, often leaving shareholders in the dark about what causes their money is promoting.

A watchdog group wants that to change.

The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has asked members of the Senate Banking Committee to adopt a version of a House bill on corporate disclosure that would require companies to reveal more information about their donations.

The group wants corporations to reveal grants made to philanthropic organizations affiliated with their executives or members of their boards of directors.

It is hoping public anger over the wave of recent business scandals will help them.

"To truly and fully promote corporate disclosure and corporate accountability, the use or misuse of corporate charitable giving must not be overlooked," group president Rick Cohen said.

-- Times staff writers Bill Adair, Mary Jacoby and Paul de la Garza contributed to this report.

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