GSA Chief to Pay Government for Personal Expenses
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WASHINGTON — Roger W. Johnson, the head of the General Services Administration, plans to repay the government $256.73 for 184 long-distance phone calls and several pieces of overnight mail that his staff said amounted to personal use of government resources, it was announced Friday.
Johnson, the Orange County businessman who rose to become the highest-ranking Republican in the Clinton Administration, ordered the review by GSA’s Chief Financial Officer Dennis J. Fischer after questions arose about his expenses.
In an earlier examination of travel reimbursements, Fischer determined that Johnson had violated no regulations, but the GSA chief opted to repay about $800 anyway, his staff said.
Johnson, former chief executive officer of Western Digital Corp. in Irvine, was not available for comment.
But GSA spokesman Hap Conners called the scrutiny of the expense reports an effort by critics to discredit Johnson as he works to restructure the $60-billion agency.
“There are some people in town who are quite comfortable with the way things are and look at change as a threat,” Conners said.
A separate probe by the GSA’s inspector general--also requested by Johnson--is pending.
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