The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee has passed legislation repealing a provision in
the second Katrina supplemental spending bill that raised
the limit on routine transactions with government-issued
purchase cards from $2,500 to $250,000.
The bill provides for a limit $15,000 for emergency
purchases, something committee chairman Susan Collins,
R-Maine, and ranking member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said
would help make the purchase card system — and its 300,000
cards – less vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse.
A similar bill was introduced on September 30 by Sens.
Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
On October 3 OMB Deputy Director for Management Clay
Johnson III, issued a memorandum asking agencies to operate
under pre-hurricane purchase levels unless they can justify
to OMB an exceptional need to break the limit.
