Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 Department of Health and Human Services

OFFICE OF 

INSPECTOR GENERAL 

 

Daniel R. Levinson 

Inspector General 

April 2009 

OEI-07-07-00480 

 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES EMPLOYEE 

TRAVEL CARDS: USAGE AND 

INTERNAL CONTROLS 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

Office of Inspector General 

http://oig.hhs.gov 

The mission of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), as mandated by Public Law 95-452, as 

amended, is to protect the integrity of the Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS) programs, as well as the health and welfare of beneficiaries served by those 

programs. This statutory mission is carried out through a nationwide network of audits, 

investigations, and inspections conducted by the following operating components: 

Office of Audit Services 

The Office of Audit Services (OAS) provides auditing services for HHS, either by conducting 

audits with its own audit resources or by overseeing audit work done by others. Audits 

examine the performance of HHS programs and/or its grantees and contractors in carrying 

out their respective responsibilities and are intended to provide independent assessments of 

HHS programs and operations. These assessments help reduce waste, abuse, and 

mismanagement and promote economy and efficiency throughout HHS. 

Office of Evaluation and Inspections 

The Office of Evaluation and Inspections (OEI) conducts national evaluations to provide 

HHS, Congress, and the public with timely, useful, and reliable information on significant 

issues. These evaluations focus on preventing fraud, waste, or abuse and promoting 

economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of departmental programs. To promote impact, OEI 

reports also present practical recommendations for improving program operations. 

Office of Investigations 

The Office of Investigations (OI) conducts criminal, civil, and administrative investigations 

of fraud and misconduct related to HHS programs, operations, and beneficiaries. With 

investigators working in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, OI utilizes its resources 

by actively coordinating with the Department of Justice and other Federal, State, and local 

law enforcement authorities. The investigative efforts of OI often lead to criminal 

convictions, administrative sanctions, and/or civil monetary penalties. 

Office of Counsel to the Inspector General 

The Office of Counsel to the Inspector General (OCIG) provides general legal services to 

OIG, rendering advice and opinions on HHS programs and operations and providing all 

legal support for OIG’s internal operations. OCIG represents OIG in all civil and 

administrative fraud and abuse cases involving HHS programs, including False Claims Act, 

program exclusion, and civil monetary penalty cases. In connection with these cases, OCIG 

also negotiates and monitors corporate integrity agreements. OCIG renders advisory 

opinions, issues compliance program guidance, publishes fraud alerts, and provides other 

guidance to the health care industry concerning the anti-kickback statute and other OIG 

enforcement authorities. 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

Δ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

OBJECTIVES

To determine (1) the extent to which the travel card transactions that 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees made in 

2007 constitute misuse and (2) whether travel card internal controls, 

such as guidance, training, transaction reviews, and follow-up actions, 

work as intended to prevent or address misuse. 

BACKGROUND 

Federal regulations require an employee who travels more than five 

times per year to obtain a Government travel card. Pursuant to the 

Federal Travel Regulation and the “HHS Travel Manual,” official travel 

expenses include transportation, lodging, meals, and incidentals 

associated with official temporary duty travel. Misuse is defined, in 

part, as the use of a Federal charge card for other than the official 

Government purpose for which it is intended. Travel card program 

administrators, including Agency/Organization Program Coordinators 

(A/OPC) and cardholder supervisors, are responsible for reviewing 

reports to monitor cardholder activities, including misuse. Travel 

cardholders are personally liable for transactions made with their travel 

cards. 

During 2007, HHS employees used travel cards to make approximately 

346,000 transactions totaling $68 million, excluding negative 

transactions, transactions of less than $5, and transactions that 

represent fees charged by the HHS-contracted travel agent. From the 

universe of 2007 transactions, we selected a simple random sample of 

220 transactions to produce an overall estimate of misuse. We also 

selected a stratified random sample of 213 transactions from the 

subpopulation of transactions that did not match electronic voucher 

data. For both samples, we contacted the A/OPC for each transaction to 

obtain information to determine whether misuse occurred. We 

conducted interviews with A/OPCs, cardholder supervisors, and 

employee and labor relations staff regarding the administration of the 

travel card program. 

FINDINGS 

Six percent of 2007 travel card transactions constituted misuse. 

Four percent of the 2007 transactions were for personal purchases while 

cardholders were not on official travel, 1 percent were for personal 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS i 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

purchases while the cardholders were on official travel, and 1 percent 

were for local travel expenses. 

Twenty-seven percent of transactions that did not match electronic 

voucher data constituted misuse. Twenty-one percent of the 2007 

transactions that did not match electronic voucher data were for 

personal purchases, 2 percent for local travel expenses, 2 percent for 

conference registration, and 1 percent for travel-related expenses of 

persons other than cardholders. (Because of rounding, the percentages 

do not add to 27.) 

Program guidance is lacking in some areas, and training does not 

meet requirements. Current travel card guidance lacks specificity on 

allowable purchases and follow-up actions for misuse, and training does 

not meet Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements. 

Program administrators may not identify all misuse. Less than half 

of the A/OPCs that we interviewed matched transactions with travel 

dates to identify potential misuse. Focusing only on atypical merchants 

would not identify lodging and airline tickets for personal travel. 

Cardholder supervisors reported limited roles in the travel card 

program. 

Less than one-third of sampled transactions that constituted misuse 

were associated with follow-up actions. This can be explained in part 

by deficiencies in the travel card program, including a lack of specific 

guidance, training that does not meet OMB requirements or users’ 

needs, and review techniques that may not identify all misuse. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

OIG recommends that the Assistant Secretary for Administration and 

Management: 

Improve travel card program guidance. Topics could include: 

(1) specific examples of unallowable purchases with the travel card, 

(2) a departmental Table of Penalties that sets minimum and maximum 

guidelines on the actions to take for specific types of travel card misuse, 

and (3) instructions for reporting travel card misuse to employee and 

labor relations offices. 

Improve travel card program training. At a minimum, the frequency 

and documentation of the training must meet the requirements in 

Appendix B of OMB Circular A-123, and the training content should 

meet users’ needs. Training topics could include: (1) specific examples 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS ii 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS iii 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

of unallowable purchases with the travel card for cardholders and 

(2) procedures and communication strategies for A/OPCs and cardholder 

supervisors to identify and respond to misuse. 

Improve methods to identify misuse. These methods could include: 

(1) providing an automated data-matching program to compare dates of 

authorized travel to transaction dates and (2) communicating to A/OPCs 

and cardholder supervisors the availability of online access to 

transaction information. 

AGENCY COMMENTS AND OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

RESPONSE 

In its written comments to the report, the Assistant Secretary for 

Administration and Management (ASAM) accepted each of the three 

recommendations. For each recommendation, ASAM described actions 

it has taken or will take to address it. For example, ASAM updated the 

HHS Travel Manual in May 2008, coordinated with the Office of the 

Secretary and the General Services Administration to secure travel card 

training compliant with Appendix B of OMB Circular A-123, and plans 

to develop an internal data mining tool for all agencies to identify 

potential travel card misuse. We did not make any changes to the 

report based on ASAM’s comments.
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

Δ TABLE OF CONTENTS 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .....................................i

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

 Six percent of transactions constituted misuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

 Twenty-seven percent of transactions that did not match 

electronic voucher data constituted misuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

 Guidance is lacking; training does not meet requirements . . . . . . 12 

 Program administrators may not identify all misuse . . . . . . . . . . 15 

 Not all misuse led to follow-up actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Agency Comments and Office of Inspector General Response . . . 19 

APPENDIXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

 A: Sampled Transactions by Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

 B: Sampled Agency/Organization Program Coordinators 

 by Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

 C: Point Estimates and Confidence Intervals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

 D: Agency Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

ΔDESIGN INTRODUCTION 

OBJECTIVES 

To determine (1) the extent to which the travel card transactions that 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees made in 

2007 constitute misuse and (2) whether travel card internal controls, 

such as guidance, training, transaction reviews, and follow-up actions, 

work as intended to prevent or address misuse. 

BACKGROUND 

Federal regulations require employees who travel more than five times 

per year to obtain an Individually Billed Account travel charge card 

(hereinafter referred to as a travel card). The regulations further 

require that travelers use the travel card for all official travel and 

travel-related transactions unless those transactions are specifically 

exempted.1 Federal employees enter into contractual agreements with 

the servicing bank (U.S. Bank for HHS in 2007) indicating that they 

will use the card only for official travel and travel-related transactions 

in accordance with agency policy and will pay all charges they incur. 

During 2007, HHS employees used travel cards to make 

346,441 transactions totaling $68,323,684, excluding negative 

transactions (i.e., credits to the travel card), transactions of less than 

$5, and transactions that represent fees charged by the HHS-contracted 

travel agent. Table 1 shows the number and total dollar amount of 

transactions by category. 

1 The Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998, P.L. No. 105-264, 

5 U.S.C. § 5701 note, required the promulgation of governmentwide regulations requiring 

Federal employees to use travel charge cards for all payments of expenses of official 

Government travel. Subpart 301-51 of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) establishes the 

requirements for using the Government travel charge card (41 CFR § 301-51). Examples of 

exempt official travel transactions include parking and taxi services (41 CFR § 301-51.2). 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 1 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Table 1: 2007 Travel Card Transactions by Category 

Category* Number of 

Transactions

Dollar amount of 

Transactions

Hotels 107,228 $37,877,956

Airline 33,801 $15,673,057

Money 36,906 $5,375,407

Rental Cars 15,752 $2,802,889

Eating/Drinking 73,130 $1,921,377

Vehicle Expense 48,895 $1,684,289

Other Travel 18,299 $1,482,368

Business Expense 2,690 $520,391

Other 3,822 $357,972

Office Services 1,431 $255,447

Wholesale Trade 2,875 $141,622

Maintenance, Repair, and Operating Supplies 336 $104,950

Medical 587 $39,405

Office Supplies 469 $30,586

Mail/Telephone 108 $30,166

Retail Services 39 $9,621

Automobile/Recreational Vehicle Dealers 57 $8,648

Building Services 13 $6,943

Retail Goods 3 $590

 Total 346,441 $68,323,684

*U.S. Bank assigns each transaction to a predefined category.

Source: Office of Inspector General (OIG) analysis of U.S. Bank database of 2007 HHS travel card 

transactions, 2008.

Travel Card Guidance 

Requirements for the use of travel cards are contained in the FTR, 

pt. 301-51; HHS-wide supplemental policy and guidance is contained in 

the “HHS Travel Manual,” Chapter 9-00. According to the FTR and the 

“HHS Travel Manual,” official travel expenses include transportation, 

lodging, meals, and incidentals associated with official temporary duty 

travel.2 The travel card may not be used for personal expenses at any 

time.3 Misuse is defined as the use of a Federal charge card for other 

than the official Government purpose for which it is intended.4

2 “HHS Travel Manual,” Chapter 9-00-10.I prohibits use of the travel card for expenses 

within the local travel area, with certain exceptions such as rental cars. 

3 41 CFR § 301-51.6 and “HHS Travel Manual,” Chapter 9-00-10.H. 

4 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123, Appendix B, Attachment 1. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 2 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

OMB’s Circular A-123, Appendix B, requires Federal agencies to 

maintain internal controls that reduce the risk of fraud, waste, and 

delinquency (i.e., failure to pay travel card bills in a timely manner) in 

Government charge card programs. A summary of the various 

requirements includes: 

• written policies and procedures for the appropriate use of travel 

cards; 

• training frequency and content for Agency/Organization Program 

Coordinators (A/OPC),5 approving officials (typically cardholder 

supervisors), and cardholders; 

• risk management controls ranging from general (e.g., ensuring that 

practices to mitigate risks associated with the charge card program 

are carried out) to specific (e.g., reviewing transactions to detect 

instances of misuse); and 

• administrative and disciplinary actions that may be imposed on 

cardholders to address misuse of their travel cards. 

In April 2005, the Assistant Secretary for Administration and 

Management (ASAM) issued memoranda to cardholders and cardholder 

supervisors. The memorandum to cardholders reminded them that 

using the travel card for purchases unrelated to official travel or failing 

to pay travel card bills in a timely manner constitutes misuse. 

Cardholders signed the HHS Traveler’s Agreement for Government 

Contractor-Issued Travel Charge Card Users to document receipt of the 

memorandum. The memorandum to supervisors stated that a 

supervisor has the responsibility to: (1) ensure that a process is in place 

for reviewing reports to identify misuse, (2) ensure that inquiries are 

conducted to determine whether misuse occurred, (3) consult with his or 

her employee and labor relations office when deciding what action to 

take, and (4) properly address instances of a subordinate’s misuse of the 

travel card. The memorandum included examples of misuse and related 

travel card misconduct (e.g., submitting a false travel voucher). It also 

included possible actions that supervisors might take in instances of 

misuse or misconduct, such as counseling, official reprimand, 

3 

5 An A/OPC serves as an intermediary between the cardholder, the card-issuing bank, 

and agency management. An A/OPC’s role includes account setup and maintenance, 

understanding and implementing the FTR and agency travel policies, and monitoring 

cardholder activity. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

suspension from duty without pay, reassignment or downgrade to a 

position not involving travel, or removal from the position and Federal 

service. However, the memorandum did not specify which particular 

action should be taken in response to various types of misuse or 

misconduct. 

Most, but not all, of the HHS agencies have issued their own travel card 

guidance manuals. Generally, these manuals offer guidance to 

cardholders in greater specificity than that contained in the FTR or the 

“HHS Travel Manual” (e.g., the step-by-step mechanics of obtaining a 

cash advance at an automated teller machine (ATM)). Agencies may be 

more, but not less, restrictive than the FTR and HHS travel card 

guidance. 

Travel Card Training 

OMB Circular A-123 requires that all A/OPCs, approving officials, and 

travel cardholders receive training before taking on such roles and 

refresher training at a minimum of every 3 years. Copies of training 

certificates must be maintained. For A/OPCs, approving officials, and 

cardholders, the training content must include the provisions of the 

FTR and proper card use. The training for A/OPCs must further 

include oversight tools and techniques. 

Travel Card Oversight 

A/OPCs are responsible for reviewing monthly transaction reports from 

the card-issuing bank (which was U.S. Bank in 2007) to monitor 

cardholder activities, including misuse.6 Each of the 12 HHS agencies 

has one individual who serves as the principal A/OPC for that agency.7 

Under this individual, one or more primary and/or alternate A/OPCs 

work at the division or office level. According to information U.S. Bank 

provided us in January 2008, HHS had 370 primary and 252 alternate 

A/OPCs to oversee the purchasing activities of approximately 

32,000 travel cardholders. 

Related Studies 

In 2003, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report 

entitled “Controls over Travel Program Are Generally Effective, but 

Some Improvements Are Needed” regarding travel-card-monitoring 

processes and 2001 travel card transactions in five HHS 

4 

6 “HHS Travel Manual,” Chapter 9-00-10.J. 

7 There are 11 principal A/OPCs in HHS. Two agencies share the same principal A/OPC. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

agencies (GAO-03-334). This report found that controls over the travel 

program were generally effective but that monitoring of travel card use 

focused mainly on delinquencies. GAO found that 71 of 430 sampled 

transactions were unauthorized, meaning that they were for personal 

use or the agency lacked documentation to support that the transactions 

were for official travel expenses. The methods used in the GAO report 

do not allow for comparison to the results of this report. In 2002, the 

President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) issued a report 

entitled “Review of Common Problems and Best Practices in Federal 

Agencies’ Travel Card Programs.” This report synthesized OIG 

evaluations and audits of six Federal agencies’ travel card programs 

(HHS was not included). 

METHODOLOGY 

Transaction Data 

U.S. Bank provided us with the following data: (1) a departmentwide 

database of 2007 HHS travel card transactions, including the account 

number, transaction date, merchant name and category, amount, and 

unique transaction identification number for each transaction, and 

(2) a listing of all HHS cardholders, including name and account 

number. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Business System provided 

2007 electronic travel voucher data, including employee name, dates of 

departure and return, and location. The HHS Program Support Center 

provided 2007 electronic travel voucher data for all other HHS agencies, 

including employee name, dates of departure and return, travel card 

account number, and location. This information was combined to create 

a departmentwide electronic voucher dataset. 

Sample Selection of Transactions 

Overall sample 

From the 402,301 HHS cardholder transactions in 2007, we excluded 

11,306 negative transactions (i.e., credits to travel cards), 

10,158 transactions of less than $5, and 34,396 transactions 

representing fees charged by the HHS-contracted travel agents for 

airline reservations, leaving a universe of 346,441 transactions. To 

produce an overall estimate of transactions that constituted misuse, we 

selected a simple random sample of 220 transactions. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 5 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Sample of transactions that did not match electronic voucher data 

To examine transactions with a higher likelihood of being unrelated to 

official travel, we looked at a subset of the universe of 

346,441 transactions. We matched official travel dates from the 

electronic departmental travel voucher data against transaction dates 

from the U.S. Bank transaction data. We allowed a 5-day window 

before the departure date for advance purchase of airline tickets, train 

tickets, and ATM withdrawals and up to 4 days after the return date for 

posting of hotel and rental car transactions. We matched the 

transaction date of each transaction against the dates in the database of 

travel voucher dates by travel card account number or by cardholder 

name if an account number did not match or was not listed in the 

voucher data.8 Of the 346,441 unique transactions, 53,504 (15 percent) 

did not match electronic voucher data. 

To produce estimates of the proportion and dollar amount of 

transactions that constituted misuse for this subpopulation, we selected 

a stratified random sample by dollar amount as shown in Table 2. 

Table 2: Transaction Population and Sample Size 

Strata Definition Population 

Size Sample Size

1. Transactions from $5.00 through $250.00 44,111 80

2. Transactions from $250.01 through $4,000.00 9,340 80

3. Transactions over $4,000.00 53 53

 Total 53,504 213

Source: OIG analysis of U.S. Bank database of 2007 HHS travel card transactions, 2008.

Determinations of Misuse 

For the sampled transactions in both sampling frames, we contacted the 

principal A/OPC for each agency with a list of all transactions for that 

agency to determine which A/OPC would best be able to explain 

whether each transaction was related to authorized travel. In some 

cases, the principal A/OPC at the agency indicated that he or she would 

be the appropriate person to explain each sampled transaction; in 

others, the principal A/OPC provided the contact information for 

division or office-level A/OPCs. 

8 Sometimes when a cardholder’s account number changed (e.g., because a card was lost 

or stolen), it was not updated promptly in the electronic voucher data. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 6 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

We contacted the designated A/OPC for each transaction to obtain a 

description of what was purchased, an explanation as to whether the 

transaction was related to authorized travel, and a description of any 

followup (e.g., verbal counseling, disciplinary action) that had occurred 

with the cardholder related to the sampled transaction before our 

inquiry. We also asked the A/OPC to indicate the sources of information 

(e.g., electronic records, cardholder, cardholder’s supervisor) that he or 

she accessed to respond to our inquiry. In our cover letter to the 

A/OPCs, we asked the A/OPCs to diligently search all available 

documents and other sources of information. Based on the information 

the A/OPCs supplied to us, we attempted to determine which sampled 

transactions constituted misuse according to the criteria in the 

departmental and agency guidance. In cases where the guidance did 

not adequately address whether a transaction constituted misuse, we 

consulted with ASAM officials. To ensure consistent determinations of 

misuse according to ASAM directives, we made independent 

determinations rather than relying on A/OPC interpretations and 

applications of travel card guidance. 

A/OPCs were unable to provide information for four sampled 

transactions (e.g., the cardholder had retired). Two of these 

transactions were from the overall sample, and two were from the 

transactions that did not match electronic voucher data. We did not 

count these transactions as misuse. See Appendix A for the number of 

sampled transactions by agency. 

Structured Interviews of A/OPCs and Cardholder Supervisors 

We received a database of the names and contact information for all 

A/OPCs from U.S. Bank. We interviewed each of the principal A/OPCs 

within each of the 12 agencies and a random sample of 50 primary 

A/OPCs at the division or office level. The sampling scheme ensured 

that each agency that had A/OPCs at the division or office level was 

represented. We selected A/OPCs at random from the total number of 

A/OPCs proportionate to the number of cardholders at each agency. See 

Appendix B for the number of sampled A/OPCs by agency. We also 

selected one cardholder supervisor who corresponded with each sampled 

A/OPC for an interview. If a sampled A/OPC corresponded with more 

than one cardholder supervisor, we randomly selected one cardholder 

supervisor from the universe of supervisors corresponding with the 

sampled A/OPC. Because of the small sample size, we did not project 

the results of the interviews. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 7 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

During the interviews, we inquired about A/OPCs’ knowledge of and 

experiences with misuse of travel cards by departmental cardholders. 

We addressed issues such as the procedures that A/OPCs and 

cardholder supervisors used to identify misuse, corrective actions that 

A/OPCs and cardholder supervisors have employed or would employ if 

misuse was identified, when and how A/OPCs and cardholder 

supervisors reported misuse, and corresponding corrective actions. We 

also interviewed these officials regarding training for A/OPCs, 

cardholder supervisors, and cardholders. 

Structured Interviews of Employee and Labor Relations Staff 

We interviewed employee and labor relations staff from each of the five 

HHS human resource centers: Atlanta, Baltimore, the Indian Health 

Service, NIH, and Rockville. During the interviews, we inquired about 

addressing travel card misuse, written criteria for addressing misuse, 

and agencies’ frequency of contact with the employee and labor relations 

staff regarding travel card misuse. 

Limitations 

Although ASAM has identified delinquency as a type of travel card 

misuse, this evaluation did not examine it. We did not attempt to 

match transactions with hard copy vouchers if they did not match 

departmental electronic voucher data. The sampling method does not 

allow a dollar projection of transactions that constituted misuse for the 

overall sample. It also does not allow a comparison of transactions that 

constituted misuse between agencies within HHS. Although it is 

possible that a single transaction could have been selected in both 

sampling frames, this did not occur. 

Standards 

This study was conducted in accordance with the “Quality Standards for 

Inspections” issued by PCIE and the Executive Council on Integrity and 

Efficiency.

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 8 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

Unlike other Government charge 

card programs, the travel card 

program makes the travel 

cardholder responsible for all 

charges on his or her account and the bill is sent directly to the 

cardholder for payment. There is no monetary loss to the Government if 

cardholders charge non-travel-related purchases on their travel cards 

and pay their bill in full upon receipt. However, the travel card is not 

an employee’s personal credit card, and the FTR and “HHS Travel 

Manual” prohibit use of the card as a vehicle to finance personal 

purchases. 

Six percent of 2007 travel card transactions 

constituted misuse 

Δ FINDINGS 

Overall, 6 percent (14 of 220) of the 2007 travel card transactions 

constituted misuse, with 4 percent of the transactions made for personal 

purchases while the cardholder was not on official travel, 1 percent for 

personal purchases while the cardholder was on official travel, and 

1 percent for local travel expenses. Confidence intervals for the 

projections can be found in Appendix C. To develop our projections, we 

reviewed 220 sampled transactions totaling approximately $35,000.9 

The average amount of the sampled transactions that constituted 

misuse was $83.68, ranging in our sample from $8.00 to $489.30. 

Table 3 summarizes the number and amount of misuse transactions by 

merchant category. 

Table 3: Misuse Transactions by Merchant Category 

Category Number of 

Transactions Amount

Airline 2 $529.30

Hotels 2 $275.00

Vehicle Expense (e.g., gasoline, parking) 4 $147.45

Money 1 $102.00

Other (e.g., retail) 1 $24.99

Eating/Drinking 2 $44.27

Other Travel 1 $30.00

Wholesale Trade 1 $18.57

 Total 14 $1,171.58

Source: OIG analysis of A/OPCs' responses to transaction inquiries, 2008.

9 The sampling scheme does not allow a projection of the dollar amount of transactions 

that constituted misuse for the overall sample. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 9 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

Four percent of 2007 transactions were for personal purchases while the 

cardholder was not on official travel 

Personal purchases included airfare in the amount of $489.30 to attend 

a relative’s funeral, $267.00 for lodging for a personal trip following 

official travel, a $102.00 cash advance, and $24.99 at a sporting goods 

store, as well as gasoline and food purchases. For these transactions, 

A/OPCs reported that the cardholder was not on official travel at the 

time of the transactions. For the cash advance transaction, the A/OPC 

indicated that the cardholder used the travel card “accidentally while on 

personal travel.” 

One percent of 2007 transactions were for personal purchases while the 

cardholder was on official travel 

Two purchases are included in this category: $40.00 for an airline 

upgrade and $18.57 for tablecloths purchased while traveling 

internationally. Cardholders made these purchases while on official 

travel; however, they were for items unrelated to official Government 

business. 

One percent of 2007 transactions were for local travel expenses 

The travel card may not be used for expenses within the local travel 

area, with the exception of expenses for authorized rental cars.10 Three 

purchases of parking and gasoline were made on travel cards for local 

travel expenses totaling $59.00. 

Of the transactions that did not 

match electronic voucher data 

(53,504 of 346,441 transactions), 

27 percent constituted misuse, 

which projects to $1.4 million. Twenty-one percent of the transactions 

that did not match electronic voucher data were for personal purchases, 

2 percent for local travel expenses, 2 percent for conference registration, 

and 1 percent for travel-related expenses of persons other than 

cardholders.11 However, the majority of the transactions were in 

support of official Government travel. To develop our projections, we 

reviewed 213 sampled transactions totaling approximately $364,000. 

Thirty-four sampled transactions constituted misuse. The projected 

Twenty-seven percent of transactions that 

did not match electronic voucher data 

constituted misuse 

10 

10 “HHS Travel Manual,” Chapter 9-00-10. 

11 Because of rounding, the percentages do not add to 27. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

average amount of the transactions constituting misuse was $97.30, 

ranging in the sample from $5.12 to $4,955.53. Table 4 summarizes the 

number and amount of sampled transactions that constituted misuse by 

merchant category. 

Table 4: Misuse Transactions That Did Not Match Electronic Voucher 

Data by Merchant Category 

Category Number of 

Transactions Amount

Hotels 5 $5,742.19

Money 4 $1,346.50

Business Expense 4 $1,192.82

Maintenance, Repair, and Operating Supplies 1 $685.00

Office Services 1 $495.00

Other 2 $336.87

Airline 1 $299.40

Eating/Drinking 9 $297.09

Vehicle Expense (e.g., gasoline, parking) 6 $207.28

Wholesale Trade 1 $14.79

 Total 34 $10,616.94

Source: OIG analysis of A/OPCs' responses to transaction inquiries, 2008.

Twenty-one percent of transactions were for personal purchases

Examples of these transactions include lodging at a Hawaii hotel for 

$4,955.53 during a deployed employee’s military leave; cash advances of 

$600.00, $502.50, $143.00, and $101.00; a purchase at a casual clothing 

store for $136.87; gasoline for a personal vehicle for $30.01; and 

restaurant charges ranging from $5.12 to $138.90. 

Two percent of transactions were for local travel expenses 

As stated previously, the travel card may not be used for local travel 

expenses. Cardholders purchased lodging and meals totaling 

$237.81 while on local travel. For example, one cardholder while on 

local travel charged one night’s lodging on her travel card because of 

inclement weather. She was not reimbursed for this charge. 

Two percent of transactions were for conference registration 

The FTR does not clearly prohibit the payment of conference 

registration fees with the travel card. However, as a direct result of 

Congress’s concern regarding conference expenses for Federal 

employees, HHS issued supplemental guidance in April 2007 stating 

that employees “may not use a travel card to charge early-bird 

conference registration fees.” This guidance was later incorporated in 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 11 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

the “HHS Travel Manual.” Although HHS guidelines do not explicitly 

state that cardholders may not use travel cards to pay normal 

conference registration fees, ASAM officials advised us that travel cards 

should never be used for conference registration fees. Six cardholders 

charged conference registration fees totaling $2,510.00 on travel cards. 

Based on the merchant categories assigned to various organizations 

that offer conferences, the conference registration fees fall within the 

categories of Business Expense; Maintenance, Repair, and Operating 

Supplies; Office Services; and Other. 

One percent of transactions were for travel-related expenses of persons 

other than the cardholders 

The HHS Traveler’s Agreement stipulates that the travel card may be 

used only for the cardholder’s own authorized official business expenses, 

and use of the card for any other purpose is misuse. One cardholder 

purchased a $299.40 airline ticket for a staff member who did not have 

a travel card, and another cardholder purchased dinner totaling $82.00 

for four individuals and received cash reimbursement from the three 

other travelers. 

The majority of transactions were in support of official Government travel 

Most transactions that did not match electronic voucher data were 

legitimate. For example, travelers requested official flights to be 

ticketed more than 5 days before the departure date (e.g., to lock in an 

airfare when a noncontract flight was necessary). In addition, when 

cardholders charged travel-related transactions on their travel cards 

but were reimbursed through a source other than one of HHS’s 

electronic travel voucher systems (e.g., the travel was paid for by 

another agency, the employee was involved in a permanent change of 

station), the transactions did not match electronic voucher data. Still, 

transactions that did not match produced a statistically significant 

higher rate of transactions constituting misuse when compared to 

transactions overall. 

Using available guidance, we 

could not determine without 

consulting ASAM whether 

six types of transactions in our samples constituted misuse. Some 

A/OPCs and cardholder supervisors that we interviewed had questions 

regarding whether specific types of transactions are allowed with the 

Program guidance is lacking in some areas, and 

training does not meet requirements 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 12 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

travel card. Additionally, current training practices do not meet OMB 

requirements. 

Travel card guidance lacks specificity on allowable purchases 

After reviewing available guidance, we had to consult ASAM to 

determine whether the following types of transactions in our samples 

constituted misuse: 

(1) a passport photo, 

(2) meals on the first or last day of travel in the employee’s office 

location, 

(3) paying for another traveler’s meals, 

(4) gasoline for personal vehicles, 

(5) costs for mailing materials to the employee’s office, and 

(6) conference registration. 

In some cases, the guidance was silent on the type of purchase, and in 

other cases the guidance did not address the specifics of the purchase. 

For example, we did not find any guidance related to gasoline purchases 

for personal vehicles (e.g., for traveling to or from the airport). We note 

that in our interviews, some A/OPC interpretations of these six types of 

transactions differed from the views of ASAM officials. This lack of 

consistent understanding can lead to cardholders inadvertently 

misusing their travel cards because they have received inaccurate 

responses when seeking guidance. 

Division- and office-level A/OPCs are often sought for answers regarding 

the travel card program. Forty-two of the fifty sampled A/OPCs said 

they received questions from cardholders, and 26 said they received 

questions from supervisors. A/OPCs reported that questions they 

received included questions on allowable uses of the card. For example, 

six A/OPCs volunteered that they had been asked whether conference 

registration is an allowable travel card charge. Overall, 24 of 50 

A/OPCs and 18 of 50 cardholder supervisors indicated that they want to 

receive additional guidance on the travel card program. 

Guidance on follow-up actions and penalties is lacking 

Neither the “HHS Travel Manual” nor the 2005 memoranda from ASAM 

describe specific follow-up actions and penalties for travel card misuse. 

The 2002 PCIE report on travel card misuse stated that a lack of such 

guidance may result in employees being treated differently for the same 

type of misuse. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 13 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

At the time of this evaluation, only NIH had published a Table of 

Penalties that outlines the actions supervisors must take in response to 

travel card misuse. NIH’s guidance states that at a minimum the 

supervisor must address the misuse by meeting with and counseling the 

employee. In cases of repeated or serious travel card misuse, the NIH 

Table of Penalties describes a range of formal actions a supervisor may 

take. 

Training does not meet OMB requirements for frequency and documentation 

OMB Circular A-123 requires that all A/OPCs, approving officials 

(typically cardholder supervisors), and travel cardholders receive 

training before taking on those roles and refresher training at a 

minimum every 3 years. Copies of training certificates must be 

maintained. Principal agency-level A/OPCs reported that they did not 

maintain training records. An ASAM official confirmed that no 

centralized database of training records existed at the time of our 

review. This official reported, however, that an online training module 

that would maintain completion records was under development. 

Of the 50 division- and office-level A/OPCs we interviewed, 39 reported 

receiving initial training, but only 15 of the 39 reported that 

documentation was maintained (e.g., hard copy certificate in employee’s 

file). Of those A/OPCs who reported receiving training, eight reported 

receiving it from a departing A/OPC rather than from a formal 

departmental or agency course, and two reported receiving it at a 

previous position. Additionally, 32 of 50 cardholder supervisors 

reported receiving some type of travel card training (either initial or 

refresher), but only 12 had documentation. 

A/OPCs and cardholder supervisors agreed on the need for additional 

training. Twenty-eight of fifty division- and office-level A/OPCs would 

like additional training and suggested the content be a general 

refresher, training in the use of the card-issuing bank’s online system, 

or program updates. Thirty-four cardholder supervisors would like 

additional training and suggested that the content be a general 

refresher, program updates, or training on the supervisor’s role and 

responsibilities in the travel card program. Thirty-two of fifty 

division- and office-level A/OPCs and 35 of 50 cardholder supervisors 

reported that more training is needed for cardholders. The top two 

content areas suggested were general refresher and misuse (i.e., what 

may and may not be purchased with the travel card). One cardholder 

supervisor explained that she maintains a log of examples of misuse 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 14 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

that have occurred in her office and uses these to conduct a one-on-one 

training with each new cardholder. 

Although A/OPCs reported 

regularly conducting transaction 

reviews to identify misuse, some 

techniques may not identify all misuse. Less than half of the A/OPCs 

that we interviewed matched transactions with travel dates to identify 

potential misuse. Focusing only on atypical merchants may not identify 

lodging and airline tickets for personal travel. Limited roles for 

cardholder supervisors may also contribute to undetected misuse. 

Program administrators may not 

identify all misuse 

Only 24 of 50 A/OPCs match transactions with travel dates 

Although 47 of 50 division- or office-level A/OPCs reported having 

access to travel dates contained in their agency’s travel management 

system, only 24 mentioned matching transactions to cardholders’ 

authorized travel dates to determine whether any purchases were made 

while the cardholders were not on official travel. Additionally, although 

U.S. Bank offered real-time online access to transaction information to 

all A/OPCs, only 16 of 50 mentioned using it, with 7 indicating a need 

for additional online capabilities in the travel card program. At the 

time of this evaluation, no automated approach existed for A/OPCs to 

accomplish a match of transactions to travel dates. Automation is 

particularly important given that over half of the A/OPCs we 

interviewed reported responsibility for reviewing the transactions for 50 

or more cardholders. In addition, all but one of the interviewed A/OPCs 

indicated that the travel card program was not their only job duty. In 

fact, three-fourths of the responding A/OPCs indicated that they spent 

less than 10 percent of their time on the travel card program. 

Efforts to detect atypical purchases may not identify all misuse 

All 50 A/OPCs serving at the division or office level that we interviewed 

reported that transactions are reviewed on a monthly or more frequent 

basis. Some A/OPCs noted that their reviews involve identifying 

unusual merchants that “pop out,” with 28 of 50 stating that they look 

for personal purchases and 19 stating that they look for anything 

suspicious or atypical. Based on our results that found misuse at 

typical travel merchants, such as airlines and hotels, looking only for 

atypical merchants may not identify all misuse. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 15 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

Cardholder supervisors reported limited roles in the travel card program 

When asked to describe their involvement with the travel card program, 

38 of 50 cardholder supervisors said that their role was minimal, limited 

to approving travel, or nothing. In fact, 9 of 50 cardholder supervisors 

reported that they did not know whether transaction reviews were being 

conducted, and seven did not know what A/OPCs were looking for while 

conducting the reviews. Finally, 18 cardholder supervisors reported 

that they rely on A/OPCs or administrative staff to consult various 

sources, including cardholders, to determine whether misuse occurred. 

This may not be the best approach given that five A/OPCs volunteered 

that questioning cardholders about potential misuse transactions can be 

difficult. “It’s touchy to approach people on these matters,” noted one 

A/OPC. 

However, the 2005 ASAM memorandum to cardholder supervisors 

states the supervisors’ roles and responsibilities for the travel card 

program. The memorandum states that supervisors are responsible for 

consulting with employee and labor relations staff and taking 

appropriate action when misuse is identified. Employee and labor 

relations office staff collectively estimated that they receive about 

150 notifications of travel card misuse each year. This figure would 

equate to less than 1 percent of travel card transactions in 2007. Only 

8 of 50 cardholder supervisors volunteered that they would seek advice 

from their employee and labor relations office if faced with travel card 

misuse. 

A/OPCs for only 14 of the 

48 sampled transactions that 

constituted misuse (5 of 

14 transactions from the overall 

sample and 9 of 34 from the sample of transactions that did not match 

electronic voucher data) reported that followup (e.g., verbal counseling, 

disciplinary action) occurred with the cardholder before we began 

fieldwork. For example, cardholders received no verbal counseling or 

disciplinary action for a $283.65 hotel transaction for personal travel, a 

$489.30 airline ticket for personal travel, and a $502.50 cash advance 

not related to official travel. The A/OPC for this last transaction 

indicated that the cardholder’s supervisor was not aware of this cash 

advance at the time of our inquiry. 

Less than one-third of sampled transactions 

that constituted misuse were associated with 

follow-up actions 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 16 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

FINDINGS 

We cannot definitively determine whether limited followup was due to 

the misuse not being identified (e.g., guidance did not clearly indicate 

that the transaction was misuse, review techniques failed to identify the 

misuse) or due to inaction on the part of the A/OPC or cardholder’s 

supervisor in response to identified misuse. The fact that less than 

one-third of the sampled transactions that constituted misuse were 

associated with follow-up actions can be explained in part by 

deficiencies in the travel card program. These deficiencies include a 

lack of specific guidance, training that does not meet OMB 

requirements or users’ needs, and review techniques that may not 

identify all misuse. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 17 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

ΔRECOMMEND FINDINGS A T I O N S RECOMMENDATIONS 

In 2007, 6 percent of the transactions overall and 27 percent of the 

transactions that did not match electronic voucher data constituted 

misuse. Travel card program guidance is lacking in some areas, and 

training does not meet OMB requirements. Furthermore, program 

administrators may not identify all misuse. Finally, less than one-third 

of the sampled transactions that constituted misuse were associated 

with follow-up actions. We recognize the need for program 

improvements while still maintaining flexibility, which is imperative 

given the diverse size and function of agencies within HHS. We also 

recognize that HHS transitioned to a new card-issuing bank in 

November 2008. Even so, the information in this report may prove 

valuable to improve the administration of the travel card program with 

the new bank. 

Therefore, we recommend that ASAM: 

Improve travel card program guidance 

Topics could include: (1) specific examples of unallowable purchases 

with the travel card, including the six types of transactions identified in 

this report; (2) a departmental Table of Penalties that sets minimum 

and maximum guidelines on the actions to take for specific travel card 

misuses; and (3) instructions for reporting travel card misuse to 

employee and labor relations offices. In December 2008, after 

completion of our fieldwork, the Program Support Center sent an email 

directing travelers to the E-Gov Travel Web site. This Web site contains 

a “Travel Card Do’s & Don’ts for Employees” page addressing some 

aspects of guidance that this report identified as lacking. 

Improve travel card program training 

At a minimum, the frequency and documentation of the training must 

meet the requirements in Appendix B of OMB Circular A-123, and the 

training content should meet the users’ needs. Training topics could 

include: (1) specific examples of unallowable purchases with the travel 

card for cardholders and (2) procedures and communication strategies 

for A/OPCs and cardholder supervisors to identify and respond to 

misuse. In August 2008, after completion of our fieldwork, ASAM 

issued a memorandum to heads of operating and staff divisions 

regarding sources of training and documentation requirements. 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 18 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Improve methods to identify misuse 

These methods could include: (1) providing an automated 

data-matching program to compare dates of authorized travel to 

transaction dates and (2) communicating to A/OPCs and cardholder 

supervisors the availability of online access to transaction information. 

AGENCY COMMENTS AND OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

RESPONSE 

In its written comments to the report, ASAM accepted each of the three 

recommendations. 

In response to the first recommendation, ASAM stated that it updated 

the HHS Travel Manual in May 2008, published a pamphlet entitled 

“Travel Card Do’s & Don’ts for Employees” in September 2008, and 

updated memoranda to cardholders and cardholder supervisors in 

February 2009. Additional actions are planned with employee and labor 

relations staff. 

In response to the second recommendation, ASAM stated that it has 

coordinated with the Office of the Secretary and the General Services 

Administration to secure travel card training compliant with 

Appendix B of OMB Circular A-123 through HHS University. In 

addition, ASAM is developing a training tool to enhance A/OPC and 

cardholder supervisors’ understanding of HHS travel policy to be 

available in May 2009. 

In response to the third recommendation, ASAM plans to develop an 

internal data mining tool in 2009 for all agencies to identify potential 

travel card misuse. The tool will compare dates of authorized travel to 

transaction dates and identify excessive cash advances, large purchases, 

and inappropriate merchant category codes. ASAM will oversee the use 

of the tool. 

We did not make any changes to the report based on ASAM’s comments. 

The full text of ASAM’s comments on the draft report can be found in 

Appendix D.

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 19 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

Δ APPENDIX~A 

Table A-1: Sampled Transactions by Agency 

Agency Population Sampled 

Transactions

Population of 

Transactions That 

Did Not Match 

Electronic Voucher 

Data

Sampled 

Transactions That 

Did Not Match 

Electronic Voucher 

Data

Administration for Children & Families 18,458 16 1,608 3

Administration on Aging 1,422 0 156 0

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 1,079 1 239 1

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 82,333 40 14,912 60

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 35,230 20 2,992 13

Food and Drug Administration 49,188 29 6,089 49

Health Resources and Services 

Administration 12,038 9 1,919 7

Indian Health Service 55,768 38 11,525 20

National Institutes of Health 26,261 18 6,670 26

Office of the Secretary 56,383 46 6,230 30

Program Support Center 2,350 0 364 2

Substance Abuse & Mental Health 

Services Administration 5,931 3 800 2

 Total 346,441 220 53,504 213

Source: Office of Inspector General analysis of U.S. Bank database of 2007 Department of Health and Human Services’ travel card 

transactions, 2008.

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 20 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

Δ APPENDIX~B 

Table B-1: Sampled Agency/Organization Program Coordinators by Agency 

Agency Number of 

Cardholders

Number of 

Primary 

A/OPCs

Number of 

Sampled 

Primary 

A/OPCs

Administration for Children & Families 958 23 2

Administration on Aging* 79 0 0

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality* 154 0 0

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 5,994 47 9

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2,596 4 3

Food and Drug Administration 6,757 50 10

Health Resources and Services Administration 1,055 20 2

Indian Health Service 3,111 76 5

National Institutes of Health 3,217 66 5

Office of the Secretary 8,333 78 12

Program Support Center 381 4 1

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services 

Administration 335 2 1

 Total 32,970 370 50

*The Administration on Aging and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have principal 

A/OPCs at the agency level but do not have any A/OPCs at the division or office level.

Source: Office of Inspector General analysis of U.S. Bank databases of Department of Health and 

Human Services’ cardholders and Agency/Organization Program Coordinators (A/OPC), 2008.

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 21 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

Δ APPENDIX~C 

Table C-1: Point Estimates and Confidence Intervals 

Point Estimate Confidence Interval 

95 Percent

6.4% 3.5%–10.5%

4.1% 1.9%–7.6%

1.0% 0.1%–3.3%

1.4% 0.3%–3.9%

26.7% 19.1%–35.9%

$1.4 million $0.8 million–$1.9 million

$97.30 $66.31–$128.30

21.3% 14.4%–30.3%

2.1% 0.5%–8.0%

2.1% 0.1%–6.0%

1.2% 0.2%–6.4%

Sample of 2007 Travel Card Transactions That Did Not Match Electronic Voucher Data

Transactions that constituted misuse

Finding

Transactions that constituted misuse because they were for personal purchases 

while the cardholder was not on official travel

Overall Sample of 2007 Travel Card Transactions

Source: Office of Inspector General analysis of agency/organization program coordinators’ responses to transaction inquiries, 2008.

Average dollar amount of transactions that constituted misuse

Transactions that constituted misuse because they were for personal purchases

Transactions that constituted misuse because they were for personal purchases 

while the cardholder was on official travel

Transactions that constituted misuse because they were for local travel expenses

Transactions that constituted misuse

Dollar amount of transactions that constituted misuse

Transactions that constituted misuse because they were for conference registration

Transactions that constituted misuse because they were for local travel expenses

Transactions that constituted misuse because they were for travel-related expenses 

of persons other than the cardholders

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 22 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 23 

Δ APPENDIX~D
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 24 

APPENDIX ~ D 
Report Template Update: 04-03-08 

 

 

 O E I - 0 7 - 0 7 - 0 0 4 8 0 H H S E MPLOYEE T RAVEL CARDS : USAGE AND I NTERNAL C ONTROLS 25 

Δ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

This report was prepared under the direction of Brian T. Pattison, 

Regional Inspector General for Evaluation and Inspections in the 

Kansas City regional office. 

Tricia Fields served as the team leader for this study. Other principal 

Office of Evaluation and Inspections staff from the Kansas City regional 

office who contributed to the report include Rae Bozworth, Julie Dusold, 

Lt. Mike Garner, and Dennis Tharp; central office staff who contributed 

include Robert Gibbons and Scott Manley.