Chuck Grassley: “I would like to talk about ``pay and chase'' today. ``Pay and chase'' is a Pentagon term used to describe another…”

“I would like to talk about ``pay and chase'' today. ``Pay and chase'' is a Pentagon term used to describe another misguided policy. With pay and chase, the Pentagon pays the bills first and then tries to track down the receipts later on. Sometimes they find them; sometimes they don't And sometimes, they don't even bother to look. This is not a good policy. It is un-businesslike, and it's dangerous. Under current law, payment is not due until a valid receipt is in hand. A certified receipt tells you that the goods and services have in fact been delivered. So, to me, pay and chase is a mystery. Why, Mr. President, would anyone--in or out of government--want to pay a bill without a receipt? That defies understanding. It makes no sense. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the Pentagon bureaucrats are urging Secretary of Defense Cohen to do. Today, pay and chase is unofficial policy. It's practiced but not authorized by the law. But the Pentagon bureaucrats want Secretary of Defense Cohen to change that and make it O.K.--with the law.”