Government-Issued Charge Cards Need Stronger Oversight, Says McCaskill

Senator signs on to bipartisan legislation aimed at reining in potential misuse of taxpayer dollars

WASHINGTON – Continuing her work to better protect taxpayer dollars, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today announced that she is signing on to the Federal Charge Card Oversight Improvement Act, a bipartisan bill that takes aim at potential misuse of government-issued charge cards.

The legislation would require federal agencies to adopt already-existing data analytics tools that review every purchase made on government issued charge cards for trends, fraud, and misuse, and create a new office within the General Services Administration to lead those efforts. Additionally, the bill would encourage more interagency coordination and sharing of best practices, and require some standard steps for all agencies to follow—such as the reporting of suspicious activity by credit card carriers.

“This legislation is as commonsense as they come—we have tools that can help prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of government-issued charge cards—we should be using them,” said McCaskill, a former Missouri State Auditor and top-ranking Democrat on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. “My hope is that if federal agencies are all using the best tools available to safeguard taxpayer dollars, the public can rest a little easier and have a little more faith in government.”

In the past, reports have surfaced that government charge cards have been used for such inappropriate purposes as casinos and adult entertainment facilities.

McCaskill has been a champion for eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government and promoting the rights of whistleblowers who she has called the “taxpayers’ best friend.” Recently, she called for accountability for the military officials responsible for building a $36 million 64,000 square foot facility in Afghanistan that was never used and was constructed over the objections of the top general in charge in that province.

Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/accountability to learn more about McCaskill’s fight for stronger accountability in Washington.

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