Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 - Continued

AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004—CONTINUED

TRAVEL AND PURCHASE CARD ABUSE

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, the Senator from Iowa brought an issue to me which he hopes to remedy through Agriculture Appropriations. The issue involves the Department of Agriculture and the documented fraud and abuse occurring within both the purchase and travel card programs. I would like to ask the Senator from Iowa for further clarification.

Mr. GRASSLEY. I thank the chairman for his interest in this issue. Additionally, I want to thank him for his concern regarding credit card abuse. Working together I'm confident we can help USDA remedy this issue.

As Chairman BENNETT knows, the Department's own Office of Inspector General (OIG) has stated that USDA's travel card program is plagued with problems including fraud, abusive ATM usage, "bounded" check payments, and lack of specific travel card policies and penalties. Many of these problems still remain unchecked despite recommendations from an OIG audit over 5 years ago.

USDA employees accumulated over $5.8 million in fraudulent charges in a six-month period. The majority of these charges were racked up when individuals were not even on travel. Purchases were made at The Gap, Bath and Body, Cigarettes for Less, Tatoo and More Ink, and an Oregon Liquor Store. They also included 900 trips to Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target; tickets to Ozzy Osbourne, and automotive payments including the purchase of a $6,000 vehicles.

This is a clear abuse of government-issued cards and the trust embodied in these employees. Despite individuals signing an agreement acknowledging that the travel card is solely for work-related travel this abuse continues. The travel card is not meant to be a line of credit for employees, or to be used by individuals as a personal credit card. There is no excuse for this type of abuse.

When I was first made aware of this abuse I asked how this was allowed to occur at USDA. What I found was outdated or non-existent internal controls that do nothing more than provide lip-service to the concept of accountability. USDA's travel card program is operating under 19-year old regulations. Nineteen years ago our banking infrastructure was fundamentally different than it is today. Nineteen years ago we didn't even have ATM's!

In fact, ATM's pose the single most significant vulnerability to travel card misuse due to cash advances fees and other bank surcharges. During the six month review by the OIG, ATM transactions cost the government more than $137,000 in advance fees. There is chronic and intentional misuse with ATM withdrawals, for example, nearly $200,000 was withdrawn to pay personal debts during the six-month review period.

If that isn't bad enough, when individuals leave the department they don't always surrender their travel card! So individuals are out using the travel card as a personal credit card. OIG found that 1,549 individuals still had cards that could be used despite their departure from the Department. One individual was using his travel card nearly 2 years after he left the department!

OIG identified $650,000 in returned checks, stop payment fees and returned check fees in just a six-month period. A little diligence up front could prevent millions of dollars in fraudulent purchases.

I would point out that USDA has made recent efforts to limit abuse. USDA has attempted to reduce the number of credit card holders, revised departmental regulations on purchase cards, and instituted new system alerts to catch abusive transactions.

With Chairman BENNETT's help I plan to monitor the new efforts being made by USDA to remedy these problems I'm cautiously optimistic that USDA will recognize that the reforms must be successful, or we will establish new, more stringent reforms for USDA next year.

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VITICULTURE ASSISTANCE FOR THE STATE OF IOWA

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the State of Iowa has a blossoming viticulture industry, but the demand for technical assistance far exceeds the State's current resources. I have discussed this problem with the Senator from Utah and I appreciate his interest in the issue.

Mr. BENNETT. The Senator from Iowa has explained to me that his State is in need of specialized assistance through funding for a viticulture technician to provide on-site technical assistance.

Mr. GRASSLEY. A viticulture technician would help new producers with the basic knowledge needed about the industry. Such assistance will enable growers to benefit from increased production, and in turn, produce more successful vineyard businesses in Iowa.

This proposal has tremendous support from the Iowa Grape Growers Association, the Mississippi Valley Grape Growers Association, the Western Iowa Grape Growers Association, and the Iowa Wine and Grape Development Commission.