Government charge-card abuses have persisted in recent years despite a 2012 law aimed at curbing their misuse, according to federal auditors who testified at a congressional hearing Tuesday.

The issue prompted Reps. John Mica (R-Fla.) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) to send a letter Tuesday to the Government Accountability Office asking the watchdog agency to conduct a thorough review of the purchase-card program, including investigations where appropriate.

“Federal government managers across the board need to ensure that departments and agencies are guarding against potential abuses,” the lawmakers said, adding that purchases can “add up to billions of dollars if not properly managed.”



Inspectors general continue to find examples of government charge-card abuse despite a 2012 law meant to prevent misuse. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Here are some examples of questionable charge-card purchases that inspectors general have uncovered in recent years. All of them were mentioned during Tuesday’s hearing.

* Job Corps employees in Miami spent nearly $100,000 on personal expenses, including trips to hair salons, clothing stores and cellphone service providers. The Department of Labor inspector general said in a report this year that 98 of the program’s 125 centers nationwide had misused government debit cards, and none of them monitored card activity.

* The Bureau of Land Management spent about $800,000 on gift cards, with $70,000 of those purchases coming from the agency’s Idaho office, according to a report this year from the Department of Interior inspector general. Mica said during his opening remarks that the agency terminated three employees over the matter and that two more resigned.

* The Coast Guard spent more than $12,500 at a single Alameda, Calif., coffee shop in 2013. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Inspector General Anne Richards said at the hearing that some of those purchases may have been legitimate, explaining that the Coast Guard uses charge cards to buy coffee for the dining pantries on board its cutters.

* EPA employees bought gym memberships in three instances, racking up charges that totaled nearly $3,000, with two of the purchases being for family members. Janet Kasper, an official with the EPA inspector general’s office, testified that 94 percent of the charge-card purchases that auditors reviewed from the agency were not in compliance with EPA policies. She said nearly $80,000 in charges were prohibited, improper or erroneous.

Mica said inappropriate charge-card purchases represent “rare, bad examples” of abuse by federal employees, but he added that Congress, inspectors general and agency managers need to do a better job preventing misuse.

“The vast majority of federal employees are honest and hardworking, dedicated individuals, but I hope today’s hearing will serve as a reminder that we need to do a better job monitoring this credit-card program and also to deter bad actors,” Mica said.

Richards explained in her written testimony for the hearing why charge cards can be a benefit for the government, saying they give agencies “flexibility in making purchases, and they save money on transaction processing.”

Connolly sounded a similar note in his opening remarks, saying, “It is vital that we not overreact in response to outrageous, yet isolated, incidents of abuse.” But he also said some of the questionable purchases “make my own blood boil.”