House panel to probe purchase card abuses

A House subcommittee is scheduled Monday to review a General Accounting Office audit indicating that personnel at two Navy commands in San Diego allegedly used charge cards, intended as a money-saving means of making small official purchases, to buy pricey leather goods and electronics.

The questionable purchase card purchases at the two San Diego commands included a $400 briefcase from the upscale Coach leather stores, "Palm Pilots by the lot'' and dozens of slim-line computer monitors at about $2,400 each, a congressional aide said.

The alleged abuse of the government purchase cards will be the subject of a hearing Monday by the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Affairs.

The purchase cards were adopted as an efficiency measure to avoid the time-consuming and costly procurement process for relatively small, routine government purchases. The cards may be used for official purchases of up to $2,500 without going through the paperwork required for major acquisitions.