Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) has introduced legislation that would require agencies to ensure they have formal processes in place to collect and deactivate charge cards from federal employees who leave their jobs.
The Deactivating and Eliminating Cards Linked to Inactive or Nonexistent Employees (DECLINE) Act (S. 2794) would apply to federal employees who are discharged, separate, retire or otherwise cease employment with federal agencies.
As part of the official separation process for employees, the legislation would require the agency’s chief financial officer to establish a process that handles charge cards assigned to applicable federal employees that does the following:
- The covered individual returns the charge card to the agency;
- Personnel of the agency physically secure the charge card;
- The covered individual removes the charge card from any digital wallet or electronic device owned by the covered individual or issued to the covered individual in connection with the employment of the covered individual at the agency;
- Appropriate agency personnel immediately deactivate the charge card and close or suspend the account associated with the charge card in accordance with agency procedures; and
- Appropriate agency personnel report the charge card to the issuing financial institution as no longer valid for use or reissuance in connection with the covered individual.
The legislation also requires an annual review to evaluate charge card usage on areas such as the number of cards issued and deactivated, internal controls for monitoring use, late fees paid, and submission of management reports through the bank’s electronic access system to ensure agencies are remaining in compliance with the separation process established by the bill.
Ernst introduced the bill in response to a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) audit published in April that found there were approximately 4.6 million active government charge cards and that about 470,000 unneeded cards had been deactivated. However, DOGE noted in its post at the time that “there is still more work to do.”
Ernst also referenced an IG report from the Department of Defense published in January that found government charge cards were not being monitored effectively for potential misuse. It found, for instance, these high-risk transactions that had not been reviewed:
- $387,642.66 in transactions at known high-risk merchants including casino ATMs and a mobile application store
- $112,484.69 spent on holidays and some major sporting events in the merchant category “bar, lounge, disco, nightclub, tavern-alcoholic drinks”
- $1.2 billion spent on 3.9 million transactions Agency Program Coordinators not having active user accounts
Ernst said in a statement:
Taxpayers should not be footing the bill for bureaucrats to swipe away at casinos, night clubs, and bars. It is long past time to DECLINE these absurd payments and ensure that when a federal employee stops working, their taxpayer-funded credit card does too. Bygone bureaucrats shouldn’t be allowed to treat government credit cards like gifts cards.
Ernst has been forceful in her efforts to combat what she views as wasteful government spending. In addition to the government charge cards, she has pushed for audits on telework abuse, ending the use of official time, and has previously introduced legislation to require relocating federal employees outside of the Washington, DC area to reduce their locality pay.
