The Herald of Everett, Washington   HeraldNet Headlines
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spend $890,000 on empty account fees  WASHINGTON -- If you are a
federal worker on furlough this week -- or an airline passenger
delayed by federal furloughs -- you might save your blood
pressure, and go read another story. So even now - as the
"sequester" budget cuts have begun idling workers and
frustrating travelers - the government is still required to pay
$65, per year, per account, to keep these empty accounts on the
books. But only some. "If anyone had kept open a bank account
with no money, and was getting a charge every month, they would
do everything they could to close it," said Thomas A. Schatz, of
the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste. But,
Schatz said, the government hasn't shown the same kind of
urgency with taxpayers money. "It's just lack of attention to
detail. And poor management," he said. "And, clearly, the fact
that no one gets penalized for paying money to