[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2794 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2794
To require the heads of agencies to establish a policy with respect to
the deactivation of charge cards of employees separating from the
agency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 11, 2025
Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, and Mr. Lee) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the heads of agencies to establish a policy with respect to
the deactivation of charge cards of employees separating from the
agency, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Deactivating and Eliminating Cards
Linked to Inactive or Nonexistent Employees Act'' or the ``DECLINE
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEACTIVATION OF CHARGE CARDS UPON EMPLOYEE SEPARATION.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 5701 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Charge card.--The term ``charge card'' means a purchase
card, travel card, or other form of Federal Government payment
card--
(A) issued by an agency; and
(B) assigned to an employee of an agency.
(3) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual''--
(A) means an individual who is discharged,
separates, retires, or otherwise ceases employment with
an agency; and
(B) includes an individual who, before the
discharge, separation, or cease of employment described
in subparagraph (A), held--
(i) a position described in section 5312,
5313, 5314, or 5315 of title 5, United States
Code;
(ii) a noncareer Senior Executive Service
position, as defined in section 3132(a) of
title 5, United States Code; and
(iii) a position in the executive branch of
a confidential or policy-determining character
described in schedule C of subpart C of part
213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.
(b) Policy.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the chief financial officer or the functional equivalent
officer of each agency, in consultation with the chief human capital
officer or the functional equivalent of each agency, shall establish
and implement a policy requiring that, as part of the official
separation process from the agency of a covered individual and with
respect to any charge card assigned to the covered individual--
(1) the covered individual returns the charge card to the
agency;
(2) personnel of the agency physically secure the charge
card;
(3) the covered individual remove the charge card from any
digital wallet or electronic device owned by the covered
individual or issued to the covered individual in connection
with the employment of the covered individual at the agency;
(4) appropriate agency personnel immediately deactivate the
charge card and close or suspend the account associated with
the charge card in accordance with agency procedures; and
(5) appropriate agency personnel report the charge card to
the issuing financial institution as no longer valid for use or
reissuance in connection with the covered individual.
(c) GAO Review of Agency Compliance.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives a report that includes--
(1) the number of charge cards issued and deactivated by
each agency;
(2) the extent to which agencies have established internal
controls to monitor charge card use and address misuse, fraud,
or redundant card issuance;
(3) the status of the implementation of subsection (b) by
each agency;
(4) the total amount each agency paid in charge card late
fees during the preceding 1-year period; and
(5) the extent to which agencies submit required management
reports through the electronic access system of the bank with
which the agency has a contract, including a summary of the
report data of selected agencies, such as account activity,
disputes, and unusual spending patterns.
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