Grassley is the author of legislation that would require all federal agencies to establish safeguards and internal controls for government charge card programs as well as establish penalties for violations.  The GAO report recommends several changes that his legislation already addresses.

            “The American people should be outraged that our federal agencies are letting employees walk away with the kitchen sink, literally,” Grassley said.  “I don’t think we need anymore reports to tell us that what we already know: the government credit card system is broken and it needs fixed.”

            He has long worked to expose abuse with federal government credit cards.  In 2001, he began with oversight of the Department of Defense.  Since then, the Government Accountability Office has documented abuses in the Departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Forest Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and others. 

Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Grassley was concerned that a provision raising the limit for emergency "micro-purchases" on government credit cards from $15,000 to $250,000 was ripe for waste, fraud and abuse.  At the time, Grassley said that wasting taxpayer money does not help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. 

Here are several of the findings and recommendations from the Government Accountability Office report released jointly with the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General compared to provisions in Grassley’s bill.

DHS IG/GAO:  Investigators were unable to find evidence that DHS had provided training on purchase card policies.  They recommended that the Department of Homeland Security ensure all cardholders have completed training

GRASSLEY:  The Grassley legislation would require agencies to provide training to cardholders and managers.

DHS IG/GAO:  Investigators found that the Department of Homeland Security failed to conduct post payment audits.

GRASSLEY:  The Grassley bill would require agencies to reconcile purchase card charges on the bill with receipts and supporting documentation.  The Grassley bill would also require agency Inspectors General to conduct periodic audits of purchase card transactions.

DHS IG/GAO:  Investigators found that the Department of Homeland Security failed to suspend cards and discipline cardholders who did not provide required supporting documentation.  They recommended the development of a range of disciplinary actions for failing to comply with purchase card procedures.

GRASSLEY:  The Grassley bill would require agencies to provide adverse personnel actions for violating purchase card regulations, including dismissal and referral to the U.S. attorney in cases of fraud.

DHS IG/GAO:  Investigators found that the Department of Homeland Security had thousands of unused purchase cards - recommendation to conduct reviews to ensure that cardholders have a need for a card

GRASSLEY:  The Grassley bill would require agencies to implement periodic reviews to determine if cardholders have a need for a card.

DHS IG/GAO:  The investigators found that the Department of Homeland Security cardholder failed to dispute an improper transaction in a timely manner resulting in losses to the federal government of $153,000.

GRASSLEY:  The Grassley bill would require that disputed charges be submitted to the bank according to the bank’s procedures.

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