Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   Waste Date:   10/1/2018 9:37:20 PM

For some of these, you can thank Congressional Pork Barrel attachment to larger bills.  Got to keep those constituents happy.       

Some of the other expenses are ridiculous - the Air Force is well know for their bogus studies.  

Regarding Federal Worker Payments - Federal workers are not eligible for workman's comp or long term disability, so those 13 days of sick leave are all they have if they get sick.  It's doled out 4 hours every payday and you are expected to save it  and build it up, in case you are sick.  As far as the vacation days - there is a graduated scale based on seniority.  You do not get the full number of days until you hit 15 years.  And those days are not just for vacation  - if you have to go somewhere -say take you child to the Dr. or some other personnel issue you have to deal with away from the office gets charged out of that.  By the time you are senior enough to take it all you are too busy to use it all - and if you don't use it all you lose it and get reprimanded, because it makes the organization look bad.  It's not unusal for people to be "on leave" but still working the day.  That was how it was in Defense - I don't know about other agencies. 

As far as the end of year spending - you get so much money, and if you don't spend it all in that fiscal year, you are decramented that much the next year.  I suspect that the figets were given out as part of a stress reduction program or health programs which get imposed on organizations.  Nobody likes the system, but apparently the Budget people get judged on having too much excess at the end of the year - those funds expire (there are diffent funds that have varying  - like Acquistion money that is provided for a specic program is good for 3 years. Sometimes OMB pushes additional money onto your organizatioon and you are expected to spend it too.  That is why you see that rash of spending.  My organization used to use our excess to buy replacement or upgraded computer equipment and office supplies for the next year.  It's not pleasant to deal with and it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the contract people to get all these additional buys negotiated and obligated in just a few days.  

BTW, the OMB sometimes takes money away from organizations too, to make up someone else's shortfall, and then you are left scrambling.  People in government hate it too.