POGO Supports Senate Bill to Improve Charge Card Spending

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Dear Senators Carper, Grassley, McCaskill, Tester, and Duckworth:

The Project On Government Oversight is writing to voice support for Senate passage of the “Saving Federal Dollars Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards Act of 2017” (S. 1099).

Federal purchase and travel cards continue to represent a significant source of improper and fraudulent payments. While some progress has been made by federal agencies in recent years, more can and should be done to address these problems. Inspectors General across the federal government continue to report on substantial problems ranging from questionable payments to misuse, including at casinos and for adult entertainment.

Your bill would establish important requirements to more effectively identify and prevent improper payments for both purchase and travel cards. Building upon the earlier and successful Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-194), S. 1099 would put into law new recommendations by both the Government Accountability Office and federal Inspectors General. Notably, S. 1099 establishes expanded federal-wide use of modern data analytics to spot waste and fraud, requires more consistent sharing of best practices for determining high-risk transactions, and moves oversight efforts toward the prevention of improper payments, rather than simply chasing errors and fraud after payments are made.

Founded in 1981, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into wasteful and abusive uses of federal dollars, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government. In that light, POGO supports your bill’s goal of improving program integrity and financial accountability, and we urge Members of Congress to do the same.