The Secret Service Scandal: Was Per Diem Involved?

As yet, I have not commented on the Secret Service scandal in Colombia. It saddens me because I have always admired the Secret Service and their professionalism. There were times in DEA that I crossed paths with the Secret Service; I even worked undercover with one of  their agents once. Now Rep. Peter King (R-NY) wants to know if government funds (per diem) were used to party with prostitutes. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) wants to know if any White House aides were involved. Unless Grasslley has inside information, that sounds like a fishing expedition to me.

As for the per diem question, perhaps I can shed light here since I traveled extensively with DEA both inside the US and overseas. My information may be dated since I have been retired since 1995.

Leaving aside the whole question of married men  chasing women while on business trips, the question is whether they used their own money to do it, or were they using money they receive for per diem and expenses.

The system when I was an agent was that per diem rates were set monthly for countries and cities around the world depending on the cost of living in those locales. For example, the per diem rate in Tokyo was considerably higher than say, Kansas City. The per diem rate set the maximum allowances for lodging and meals. For example, the maximum hotel allowance for a particular place might be 150 dollars a night. (Many hotels had government rates agreed to with the government, or in the case of a foreign city, through the local American embassy.) Similarly, meal allowances were also set, say 75 dollars a day. Generally, hotel bills were attached to travel vouchers submitted after the trip, but meal receipts were not necessary. Travel advances were also the norm. I don't know if any of the above has changed.  

In addition, a travel voucher would also include miscellaneous expenses, such as taxis or rental of conference rooms. When I was in DEA International Training, our programs usually involved renting a conference room in a hotel unless the training was being conducted at a police academy.

I think it is going to be hard to establish that the agents involved were using per diem unless they were making up the money by starving themselves on food in order to spend the money on "other" items. Even then, it becomes a question of definition of abuse of government funds.

I did hear one report, however, that said the agents had rented out one large room at the El Caribe hotel. If that is the case, then the investigators would naturally inquire as to the purpose of that room.

Excluding the last possibility, I would guess that the agents were doing their thing on their own dime.