Ernst Declines Bureaucrat Credit Cards

WASHINGTON - After exposing that Pentagon bureaucrats engaged in sweeping abuses of government credit cards, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is enacting long-overdue reforms to protect taxpayers and cut down on the more than 4.6 million active cards floating around.

Ernst is introducing the Deactivating and Eliminating Cards Linked to Inactive or Nonexistent Employees (DECLINE) Act to ensure charge cards and accounts are promptly deactivated and closed when a federal employee leaves their job.

"Taxpayers should not be footing the bill for bureaucrats to swipe away at casinos, night clubs, and bars," said Ernst. "It is long past time to DECLINE these absurd payments and ensure that when a federal employee stops working, their taxpayer-funded credit card does too. Bygone bureaucrats shouldn't be allowed to treat government credit cards like gifts cards."

Click here to view the bill.

Background:

In March, DOGE exposed that the federal government holds approximately 4.6 million active purchase cards and accounts, with $40 billion in spending last year.

Ernst and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) commissioned a government-wide review of federal charge card programs after learning that federal employees used government charge cards for more than 11,000 transactions at "known high-risk merchants," including casinos, night clubs, and bars.

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