I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2189 
To prevent abuse of Government charge cards. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2009 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. ELLSWORTH) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent abuse of Government charge cards. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Government Charge 
Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF PURCHASE CARDS. 
(a) REQUIRED SAFEGUARDS AND INTERNAL CON-
TROLS.—The head of each executive agency that issues 
and uses purchase cards and convenience checks shall es-
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tablish and maintain safeguards and internal controls to 
ensure the following: 
(1) There is a record in each executive agency 
of each holder of a purchase card issued by the 
agency for official use, annotated with the limita-
tions on single transactions and total transactions 
that are applicable to the use of each such card or 
check by that purchase cardholder. 
(2) Each purchase cardholder and individual 
issued a convenience check is assigned an approving 
official other than the cardholder with the authority 
to approve or disapprove transactions. 
(3) The holder of a purchase card and each of-
ficial with authority to authorize expenditures 
charged to the purchase card are responsible for— 
(A) reconciling the charges appearing on 
each statement of account for that purchase 
card with receipts and other supporting docu-
mentation; and 
(B) forwarding such reconciliation to the 
certifying official in a timely manner to enable 
the certifying official to ensure that the Federal 
Government ultimately pays only for valid 
charges. 
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(4) Any disputed purchase card charge, and 
any discrepancy between a receipt and other sup-
porting documentation and the purchase card state-
ment of account, is resolved in the manner pre-
scribed in the applicable governmentwide purchase 
card contract entered into by the Administrator of 
General Services and in accordance with all laws and 
executive agency regulations. 
(5) Payments on purchase card accounts are 
made promptly within prescribed deadlines to avoid 
interest penalties. 
(6) Rebates and refunds based on prompt pay-
ment, sales volume, or other actions by the agency 
on purchase card accounts are reviewed for accuracy 
and properly recorded as a receipt to the agency 
that pays the monthly bill. 
(7) Records of each purchase card transaction 
(including records on associated contracts, reports, 
accounts, and invoices) are retained in accordance 
with standard Government policies on the disposition 
of records. 
(8) Periodic reviews are performed to determine 
whether each purchase cardholder has a need for the 
purchase card. 
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