Government Credit Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2008

Bill: 110-s-789
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2007-03-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Armed Forces and National Security
Auditing
Checks
Commerce
Consumer credit
Consumer discounts
Credit cards
Defense contracts
Defense procurement
Department of Defense
Disciplining of employees
Dismissal of employees
Economics and Public Finance
Employee training
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Fraud
General Services Administration
Government paperwork
Government procurement
Government travel
Inspectors general
Interest
Labor and Employment
Law
Misconduct in office
Negligence
Rebates
Risk
Science, Technology, Communications
Transfer of employees
Transportation and Public Works
Travel costs
Waste in government spending

Summary:
action_date: 2007-03-07
text: 
Government Credit Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2007 - Requires the head of each executive agency, except the Department of Defense (DOD), to: (1) establish safeguards and internal controls for purchase cards, convenience checks, and travel cards; and (2) prescribe regulations implementing such safeguards and controls that provide for adverse personnel actions or other punishment against employees for card violations, negligence, misuse, abuse, or fraud. 
 
Requires each agency Inspector General to: (1) periodically conduct risk assessments of agency purchase and travel card programs and associated internal controls, analyze weaknesses and the frequency of improper activity, and develop a plan to determine the scope, frequency, and number of periodic audits of cardholders; (2) perform periodic audits of card holders and report results to the agency head; and (3) report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OBM) and the Comptroller General on the implementation of recommendations to address audit findings.
 
Requires DOD regulations that govern the use and control of purchase cards and convenience checks that are issued to DOD personnel to include safeguards and internal controls to ensure that: (1) the Inspector Generals of DOD, the Army, the Navy, and the Airforce periodically conduct risk assessments of the DOD purchase card program and associated internal controls, analyze weaknesses and the frequency of improper activity, and develop a plan to determine the scope, frequency, and number of periodic audits of cardholders; (2) DOD utilizes technologies to prevent or identify fraudulent purchases, including controlling merchant codes and utilizing statistical machine learning and pattern recognition technologies that review the risk of every transaction; and (3) DOD invalidates the purchase card of terminated or transferred employees. 
 
Amends the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998 to require each agency head to establish safeguards and internal controls over travel charge cards. Requires the Administrator of General Services to prescribe regulations governing the implementation of such safeguards and internal controls.
 
Requires the heads of agencies that have employees who use centrally billed accounts to establish safeguards and internal controls to ensure that agencies: (1) compare items submitted on an employee's travel voucher with items paid using such an account; (2) dispute unauthorized charges and track disputed transactions to ensure appropriate resolution; and (3) submit requests for refunds for fully or partially unused tickets to the holder of the applicable contract for a centrally billed account.

action_date: 2008-08-01
text: 
Government Credit Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2008 - (Sec. 2) Requires the head of each executive agency (sets forth separate Department of Defense requirements) to establish and maintain safeguards and internal controls to ensure that: (1) records are kept of each holder of a purchase card issued for official use and of each card transaction; (2) each cardholder is assigned an approving official; (3) charges are reconciled with supporting documentation; (4) purchases are paid promptly; (5) rebates and refunds on card accounts are monitored for accuracy and recorded as agency receipts; (6) periodic reviews are performed to determine whether each cardholder has a need for a card; (7) training is provided to cardholders and officials responsible for oversight; (8) agencies have specific policies regarding the number of cards issued by various organizations, credit limits, and categories of eligible employees that are designed to minimize the financial risk to the government and to ensure the integrity of the cardholders; (9) agencies utilize technologies to prevent or identify fraudulent purchases; (10) cards of terminated or transferred employees are invalidated; and (11) steps are taken to recover the cost of improper or fraudulent purchases through salary offsets. 
 
Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prescribe guidance governing the implementation of the safeguards and internal controls for purchase cards and travel charge cards that provides for adverse personnel actions against employees for card violations, negligence, misuse, abuse, or fraud. Requires each agency head and Inspector General (including the DOD Inspector General) to report to the Director on such violations semiannually.

Requires each agency Inspector General to: (1) periodically conduct risk assessments of agency purchase and travel card programs and associated internal controls, analyze weaknesses and the frequency of improper activity, and develop a plan to determine the scope, frequency, and number of periodic audits of cardholders; (2) perform periodic audits of card transactions and report results to the agency head; and (3) report to the Director and the Comptroller General on the implementation of recommendations made to address audit findings.

Requires the Secretary of Defense to prescribe regulations that include safeguards and internal controls to ensure that: (1) each cardholder is assigned an approving official; (2) DOD utilizes technologies to prevent or identify fraudulent purchases; (3) cards of terminated or transferred employees are invalidated; (4) steps are taken to recover the cost of improper or fraudulent purchases through salary offsets; and (5) DOD's Inspector General conducts periodic risk assessment of purchase card programs and associated internal controls, analyzes weaknesses and the frequency of improper activity, and develops appropriate corrective actions. 

(Sec. 3) Amends the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998 to require each agency head to establish safeguards and internal controls over travel charge cards to ensure that: (1) records are kept of each holder of a card issued for official use; (2) rebates and refunds on travel card accounts are monitored for accuracy and recorded as agency receipts; (3) periodic reviews are performed to determine whether each cardholder has a need for a card; (4) training is provided to cardholders and officials responsible for oversight; (5) agencies have specific policies regarding the number of cards issued by various organizations, credit limits, and categories of eligible employees that are designed to minimize the financial risk to the government and to ensure the integrity of the cardholders; (6) an individual's creditworthiness is evaluated before a card is issued; (7) agencies utilize technologies to prevent or identify fraudulent purchases; (8) cards of terminated employees are invalidated; and (9) agencies utilize direct payment to the card holder. 

(Sec. 4) Requires the heads of agencies that have employees who use centrally billed accounts to establish and maintain safeguards and internal controls to ensure that agencies: (1) compare items submitted on an employee's travel voucher with items paid for using such an account; (2) dispute unauthorized charges and track disputed transactions to ensure appropriate resolution; and (3) submit requests for refunds for fully or partially unused tickets to the airlines and track unused tickets to ensure appropriate resolution. Requires the Director to prescribe guidance on implementing such safeguards and internal controls.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 933.
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Lieberman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-437.
action_date: 2008-08-01
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Lieberman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-437.
action_date: 2008-04-10
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2007-03-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2799-2800)
action_date: 2007-03-07
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2797-2799)
action_date: 2007-03-07
text: Introduced in Senate