U.S. Vehicles Used From Home to Office : Unauthorized Trips by Officials Under Scrutiny

Three-fifths of the federal officials who got free transportation between home and office in the first half of 1985 were not entitled to it, congressional investigators said Thursday.

The General Accounting Office reported that of the 128 officials provided with government vehicles for commuting--some with chauffeurs--79 had no legal basis for the transportation.

In addition, the GAO said that among 17 spouses of officials receiving such rides mainly to official functions, five were not entitled to the service at all and another five occasionally used it without legal authorization.

No White House Response

The GAO said it did not make a count of chauffeured vehicles and that its survey did not include data on White House staff cars because the White House did not respond to its questionnaires.

Milton Socolar, acting head of the congressional investigative agency, estimated the annual cost per vehicle at from $1,000 to $9,465, depending on the type of vehicle provided to an official.

But Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.), a longtime opponent of free commuting, told a House hearing that providing an official with a chauffeured limousine costs taxpayers $35,000 a year.

The GAO data was presented to the House Government Operations national security subcommittee, which is considering a Reagan Administration bill that would expand the number of officials authorized to commute at taxpayer expense.

Exemptions Sought

Michael J. Horowitz, general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget, said the White House wants 62 officials exempted from the general ban on using government vehicles to travel between home and office.

This would be a more than 25% increase over the 49 officials who the GAO said were properly being provided with free transportation under the 1946 law, which also allows top congressional leaders to have government cars.

Most agencies told the GAO that commuting was necessary for providing security to officials, responding to emergencies, fostering more efficient use of their time or allowing them more ease of travel to field offices.

The law allows officials to have cars if they have to travel from the main office to field locations. The Interior Department cited that reason for the use of nine vehicles for commuting at the Office of Surface Mining in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.