Card Crackdown Would Come at a Cost

Legislation pending a full Senate vote (S-789) to tighten restrictions on use of purchase cards by federal employees would itself cost some $85 million over five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It said that most of those costs would be related to new requirements for employee training, auditing and reporting. It noted that a recent GAO report found that almost half of card transactions it reviewed failed to meet existing control standards, but that there is no way to estimate the potential savings from improved controls. OMB recently issued new guidance in light of the GAO report that similarly seeks to crack down on abuse of the cards, which are used for some $17 billion in spending annually.