The Nation : U.S. to Curb Worker Calls

The General Services Administration said it will crack down on unofficial use of the federal telephone system--estimated to cost the government about $166 million a year--but will permit employees to make a reasonable number of personal calls. Under proposed regulations, federal employees will be allowed to make long-distance calls on the system under “limited circumstances” for such things as checking up on their children or calling a doctor. A recent survey by the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency found that at least 22% of the long-distance calls placed on the federal phone system from the nation’s capital were not official business.