House panel to probe purchase card abuses

Congress Daily
July 30, 2001
Comments

SHARE

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.

MOST COMMENTED

MORE COMMENTS SITE WIDE

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although GovExec.com does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.

HIGHLIGHT