[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 96 (Thursday, July 20, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H5496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H5496]]
                 CREDIT CARD ABUSE AT HOMELAND SECURITY

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, the GAO recently reported that 9,000 credit 
card holders at the Department of Homeland Security used their official 
cards for more than $420 million worth of goods and services last year, 
making it the top purchasing agency in the Federal Government.
  The purchases were made using government credit cards with a 
congressionally approved spending limit of $250,000 that the GAO said 
resulted in numerous cases of fraud and abuse of taxpayers' dollars.
  Nearly half the purchases were made without prior written 
authorization, and 63 percent did not have evidence that the goods or 
services were actually received, the report said. How terrible and 
outrageous this abuse is. Surely the spending limit is too high.
  It is very important that this agency enforce adequate internal 
controls to ensure that card holders are responsibly using their cards. 
I call upon the homeland security officials to stop this abuse.

                          ____________________