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Calendar No. 199
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-95
_______________________________________________________________________
CHARGING HELPS AGENCIES REALIZE GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCIES ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 2193
TO REQUIRE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF GENERAL SERVICES TO ISSUE GUIDANCE TO
CLARIFY THAT FEDERAL AGENCIES MAY PAY BY CHARGE CARD FOR THE CHARGING
OF FEDERAL ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
September 10, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
89-010 WASHINGTON : 2019
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
Joseph C. Folio III, Chief Counsel
Joshua P. McLeod, Senior Professional Staff Member
David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
Jackson G. Voss, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 199
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 116-95
======================================================================
CHARGING HELPS AGENCIES REALIZE GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCIES ACT
_______
September 10, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2193]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office)
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2193) to require
the Administrator of General Services to issue guidance to
clarify that Federal agencies may pay by charge card for the
charging of Federal electric motor vehicles, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do
pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 2193, the Charging Helps Agencies Realize General
Efficiencies Act, requires the Administrator of the General
Services Administration (GSA) to issue clarifying guidance to
the existing policy that Federal employees authorized to use a
charge card to refuel a motor vehicle may also use their charge
card and other forms of payment to pay for the charging of
electric motor vehicles.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Section 1344 of Title 31, United States Code, provides that
Federal agencies may expend funds for the ``maintenance,
operation or repair of any passenger carrier'' when used to
provide transportation for official purposes.\1\ If the agency
has funds available or appropriated to it, it may use it in
order to pay for providing transportation.\2\
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\1\31 U.S.C. Sec. 1344 et seq.
\2\Id.
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The Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998 requires
Federal employees to pay for all payments of expenses for
official government travel with government issued Federal
travel charge cards.\3\ The Travel and Transportation Reform
Act of 1998 also provides that the GSA Administrator has the
authority to create Federal regulations to collect any
delinquent amounts that occurred due to an employee using a
Federal charge card that the government would otherwise end up
paying.\4\
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\3\Pub. L. No. 105-264.
\4\Id.
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On April 21, 2000, GSA issued a final rule, titled Federal
Travel Regulation; Mandatory Use of the Travel Charge Card,
which implements the requirements of the Travel and
Transportation Reform Act of 1998.\5\
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\5\Federal Travel Regulation; Mandatory Use of the Travel Charge
Card, 65 Fed. Reg. pt. 3053-3058 (January 19, 2000) (to be codified at
41 C.F.R. 301).
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GSA operates the world's largest commercial payment program
for more than 560 Federal agencies and organizations, called
the SmartPay Program.\6\ SmartPay serves as the government-wide
commercial fleet account for the ``purchase of fuel,
maintenance and repair of government owned/operated motor
vehicles, aircraft boats, and motorized equipment.''\7\
SmartPay encourages fleet managers to ``integrate
environmentally friendly components to their operations,''
including alternative vehicle options like electric, hybrid and
hydrogen fuel cell.\8\
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\6\About GSA SmartPay, SMARTPAY.GSA.GOV (Aug. 12, 2019), https://
smartpay.gsa.gov/content/about-gsa-smartpay#a1.
\7\Account Holders/ AOs, SMARTPAY.GSA.GOV (Aug. 12, 2019), https://
smartpay.gsa.gov/content/fleet#sa168.
\8\Id.
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The Charging Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies
Act reiterates the requirements set forth in existing law by
the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998 regarding
payments of expenses for official Government travel. The CHARGE
Act requires the GSA Administrator to issue guidance clarifying
that Federal agencies may pay for charging of Federal electric
motor vehicles.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 2193, the Charging
Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies Act, on July 18,
2019. The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)
joined as a cosponsor on July 23, 2019.
The Committee considered S. 2193 at a business meeting on
July 24, 2019. During the business meeting, an amendment to
clarify a definition was offered by Senator Peters and
unanimously adopted. The bill, as amended, was ordered reported
favorably by voice vote. Senators present for the vote were
Johnson, Portman, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, Enzi, Hawley,
Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, and Rosen. Consistent with
Committee rules, the bill is being reported with a technical
amendment.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section established that the Bill may be referred to
as the ``Charging Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies
Act'' or the ``CHARGE Act''.
Section 2. Payment by charge card for charging Federal electric motor
vehicles
Subsection (a) defines the terms Administrator, charge
card, covered electric motor vehicle, electric motor vehicle,
Federal agency, and passenger carrier.
Subsection (b) requires the GSA Administrator to issue
guidance within 180 days of the bill's passage in order to
clarify that agencies may charge electric vehicles at
commercial stations and pay for the transactions with a charge
card.
Subsection (c) requires the GSA Administrator to provide
charge cards to each agency for electric motor vehicles.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 4, 2019.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2193, the CHARGE
Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 2193 would require the General Services Administration
(GSA) to issue guidance on how agencies may pay to recharge
electric vehicles they use. According to GSA this information
is already available and a wide range of payment methods are
possible. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2193 would
have no significant effect on spending subject to
appropriation.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any
provision of current law, it would not make changes in existing
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
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