DoD Tightens Purchase Card Restrictions

In response to criticism from auditors and Congress, the Defense Department will tighten its oversight of travel and purchase cards it issues to its civilian employees and military personnel. Policy changes include: DoD components must report what they have done to deal with cases of abuse, misuse and delinquency; components must improve training on proper use of the cards; monitoring of card use will be stepped up; inactive cards will be canceled; supervisors will be required to take disciplinary actions in cases of abuse, potentially including loss of a security clearance that is needed for certain jobs; and possible prosecution in local, state or federal courts. The action comes as the General Accounting Office released the latest of a series of reports on abuse of the travel and purchase cards that estimated that up to 45 percent of charges it reviewed on the travel cards were for personal, not official, use, and that the purchase cards had been used for personal items such as clothing, rings and personal electronic devices.