Misuse of the cards could potentially lead to criminal charges in addition to any possible disciplinary action, and GAO referred certain cases it identified for possible legal action. At a Senate hearing at which the report was released, witnesses from several agencies said that while some employees have been penalized for such abuses, even administrative penalties have been fairly rare. Agency officials familiar with the program testified that the situation was reminiscent of the misuse of travel and purchase cards that GAO and agency inspectors general have uncovered. The government reacted to those abuses by cracking down on who can get the cards and applying more scrutiny to their use. They suggested that similar steps might be taken with the transit subsidy program.