Saving the Taxpayers Money
The Washington Times reports, “Outsourced passports netting govt. profits, risking national security.” It is the first of a three-parter.
Interesting comments:
The United States has outsourced the manufacturing of its electronic passports to overseas companies — including one in Thailand that was victimized by Chinese espionage — raising concerns that cost savings are being put ahead of national security, an investigation by The Washington Times has found.
The Government Printing Office’s decision to export the work has proved lucrative, allowing the agency to book more than $100 million in recent profits by charging the State Department more money for blank passports than it actually costs to make them, according to interviews with federal officials and documents obtained by The Times.
The GPO tells us we don’t need to worry, because the blanks are moved by armored car. I feel better already, but can’t stop giggling.
Given that the government is requiring passports more and more, should they really be making a profit off of passport fees?