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by subsection (e), the Comptroller General shall submit to the
congressional defense committees an assessment of the extent to
which the actions taken by the Department comply with the require-
ments of this section.
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) The term ‘‘defense financial system improvement’’
means the acquisition of a new budgetary, accounting, finance,
enterprise resource planning, or mixed information system for
the Department of Defense or a modification of an existing
budgetary, accounting, finance, enterprise resource planning,
or mixed information system of the Department of Defense.
Such term does not include routine maintenance and operation
of any such system.
(2) The term ‘‘mixed information system’’ means an
information system that supports financial and non-financial
functions of the Federal Government as defined in Office of
Management and Budget Circular A–127 (Financial manage-
ment Systems).
(h) REPEAL.—(1) Section 2222 of title 10, United States Code,
is repealed. The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 131
of such title is amended by striking the item relating to such
section.
(2) Section 185(d) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘has
the meaning given that term in section 2222(c)(2) of this title’’
and inserting ‘‘means an automated or manual system from which
information is derived for a financial management system or an
accounting system’’.
SEC. 1005. ACCOUNTABLE OFFICIALS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE.
(a) ACCOUNTABLE OFFICIALS WITHIN
THE DEPARTMENT
OF
DEFENSE.—Chapter 165 of title 10, United States Code, is amended
by inserting after section 2773 the following new section:
‘‘§ 2773a. Departmental accountable officials
‘‘(a) DESIGNATION BY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The Secretary
of Defense may designate any civilian employee of the Department
of Defense or member of the armed forces under the Secretary’s
jurisdiction who is described in subsection (b) as an employee or
member who, in addition to any other potential accountability,
may be held accountable through personal monetary liability for
an illegal, improper, or incorrect payment made the Department
of Defense described in subsection (c). Any such designation shall
be in writing. Any employee or member who is so designated
may be referred to as a ‘departmental accountable official’.
‘‘(b) COVERED EMPLOYEES
AND MEMBERS.—An employee or
member of the armed forces described in this subsection is an
employee or member who—
‘‘(1) is responsible in the performance of the employee’s
or member’s duties for providing to a certifying official of the
Department of Defense information, data, or services that are
directly relied upon by the certifying official in the certification
of vouchers for payment; and
‘‘(2) is not otherwise accountable under subtitle III of title
31 or any other provision of law for payments made on the
basis of such vouchers.
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‘‘(c) PECUNIARY LIABILITY.—(1) The Secretary of Defense may
subject a departmental accountable official to pecuniary liability
for an illegal, improper, or incorrect payment made by the Depart-
ment of Defense if the Secretary determines that such payment—
‘‘(A) resulted from information, data, or services that that
official provided to a certifying official and upon which that
certifying official directly relies in certifying the voucher sup-
porting that payment; and
‘‘(B) was the result of fault or negligence on the part
of that departmental accountable official.
‘‘(2) Pecuniary liability under this subsection shall apply in
the same manner and to the same extent as applies to an official
accountable under subtitle III of title 31.
‘‘(3) Any pecuniary liability of a departmental accountable offi-
cial under this subsection for a loss to the United States resulting
from an illegal, improper, or incorrect payment is joint and several
with that of any other officer or employee of the United States
or member of the uniformed services who is pecuniarily liable
for such loss.
‘‘(d) CERTIFYING OFFICIAL DEFINED.—In this section, the term
‘certifying official’ means an employee who has the responsibilities
specified in section 3528(a) of title 31.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the begin-
ning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 2773 the following new item:
‘‘2773a. Departmental accountable officials.’’.
SEC. 1006. UNIFORM STANDARDS THROUGHOUT DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE FOR EXPOSURE OF PERSONNEL TO PECUNIARY
LIABILITY FOR LOSS OF GOVERNMENT PROPERTY.
(a) EXTENSION OF ARMY AND AIR FORCE REPORT-OF-SURVEY
PROCEDURES TO NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AND ALL DOD CIVILIAN
EMPLOYEES.—(1) Chapter 165 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘§ 2787. Reports of survey
‘‘(a) ACTION ON REPORTS OF SURVEY.—Under regulations pre-
scribed pursuant to subsection (c), any officer of the Army, Navy,
Air Force, or Marine Corps or any civilian employee of the Depart-
ment of Defense designated in accordance with those regulations
may act upon reports of surveys and vouchers pertaining to the
loss, spoilage, unserviceability, unsuitability, or destruction of, or
damage to, property of the United States under the control of
the Department of Defense.
‘‘(b) FINALITY OF ACTION.—(1) Action taken under subsection
(a) is final except as provided in paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) An action holding a person pecuniarily liable for loss,
spoilage, destruction, or damage is not final until approved by
a person designated to do so by the Secretary of a military depart-
ment, commander of a combatant command, or Director of a Defense
Agency, as the case may be, who has jurisdiction of the person
held pecuniarily liable. The person designated to provide final
approval shall be an officer of an armed force, or a civilian employee,
under the jurisdiction of the official making the designation.
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe
regulations to carry out this section.’’.
H. R. 4546—176
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
‘‘2787. Reports of survey.’’.
(b) EXTENSION TO MEMBERS OF NAVY AND MARINE CORPS OF
PAY DEDUCTION AUTHORITY PERTAINING
TO DAMAGE
OR REPAIR
OF ARMS AND EQUIPMENT.—Section 1007(e) of title 37, United States
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Army or the Air Force’’ and inserting
‘‘Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps’’.
(c) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED PROVISIONS.—(1) Sections 4835 and
9835 of title 10, United States Code, are repealed.
(2) The tables of sections at the beginning of chapters 453
and 953 of such title are amended by striking the items relating
to sections 4835 and 9835, respectively.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section
shall apply with respect to the loss, spoilage, unserviceability,
unsuitability, or destruction of, or damage to, property of the United
States under the control of the Department of Defense occurring
on or after the effective date of regulations prescribed pursuant
to section 2787 of title 10, United States Code, as added by sub-
section (a).
SEC. 1007. IMPROVEMENTS IN PURCHASE CARD MANAGEMENT.
(a) PURCHASE CARD MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS.—Section
2784 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘, acting through the
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller),’’; and
(2) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the following:
‘‘(7) That periodic reviews are performed to determine
whether each purchase card holder has a need for the purchase
card.
‘‘(8) That the Inspector General of the Department of
Defense, the Inspector General of the Army, the Naval Inspector
General, and the Inspector General of the Air Force perform
periodic audits to identify—
‘‘(A) potentially fraudulent, improper, and abusive uses
of purchase cards;
‘‘(B) any patterns of improper card holder transactions,
such as purchases of prohibited items; and
‘‘(C) categories of purchases that should be made by
means other than purchase cards in order to better aggre-
gate purchases and obtain lower prices.
‘‘(9) That appropriate training is provided to each purchase
card holder and each official with responsibility for overseeing
the use of purchase cards issued by the Department of Defense.
‘‘(10) That the Department of Defense has specific policies
regarding the number of purchase cards issued by various
organizations and categories of organizations, the credit limits
authorized for various categories of card holders, and categories
of employees eligible to be issued purchase cards, and that
those policies are designed to minimize the financial risk to
the Federal Government of the issuance of the purchase cards
and to ensure the integrity of purchase card holders.
‘‘(c) PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.—The regulations prescribed
under subsection (a) shall—
‘‘(1) provide for appropriate adverse personnel actions or
other punishment to be imposed in cases in which employees
H. R. 4546—177
of the Department of Defense violate such regulations or are
negligent or engage in misuse, abuse, or fraud with respect
to a purchase card, including removal in appropriate cases;
and
‘‘(2) provide that a violation of such regulations by a person
subject to chapter 47 of this title (the Uniform Code of Military
Justice) is punishable as a violation of section 892 of this
title (article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).’’.
(b) CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 2784
of such title is further amended—
(A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘credit’’ and
inserting ‘‘purchase’’;
(B) in the heading of subsection (a), by striking ‘‘CREDIT’’
and inserting ‘‘PURCHASE’’; and
(C) in subsection (a) and paragraphs (1) through (6) of
subsection (b), by striking ‘‘credit’’ and inserting ‘‘purchase’’
each place it appears.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 165 of
such title is amended by striking the item relating to section 2784
and inserting the following:
‘‘2784. Management of purchase cards.’’.
SEC. 1008. IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAVEL CARD MANAGEMENT.
(a) TRAVEL CARD MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS.—Chapter 165
of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
section 2784 the following new section:
‘‘§ 2784a. Management of travel cards
‘‘(a) DISBURSEMENT
OF TRAVEL ALLOWANCES DIRECTLY
TO
CREDITORS.—(1) The Secretary of Defense may require that any
part of a travel or transportation allowance of an employee of
the Department of Defense or a member of the armed forces be
disbursed directly to the issuer of a Defense travel card if the
amount is disbursed to the issuer in payment of amounts of
expenses of official travel that are charged by the employee or
member on the Defense travel card.
‘‘(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the travel and transpor-
tation allowances referred to in paragraph (1) are amounts to which
an employee of the Department of Defense is entitled under section
5702 of title 5 or a member of the armed forces is entitled under
section 404 of title 37.
‘‘(b) OFFSETS
FOR DELINQUENT TRAVEL CARD CHARGES.—(1)
The Secretary of Defense may require that there be deducted and
withheld from any basic pay payable to an employee of the Depart-
ment of Defense or a member of the armed forces any amount
that is owed by the employee or member to a creditor by reason
of one or more charges of expenses of official travel of the employee
or member on a Defense travel card issued by the creditor if
the employee or member—
‘‘(A) is delinquent in the payment of such amount under
the terms of the contract under which the card is issued;
and
‘‘(B) does not dispute the amount of the delinquency.
‘‘(2) The amount deducted and withheld from pay under para-
graph (1) with respect to a debt owed a creditor as described
in that paragraph shall be disbursed to the creditor to reduce
the amount of the debt.