PROVISIONS RELATING TO DEFENSE TRAVEL CARDS.

SEC. 1009. PROVISIONS RELATING TO DEFENSE TRAVEL CARDS.(a) Mandatory Disbursement of Travel Allowances Directly to Travel Card Creditors.—Section 2784a(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “The Secretary of Defense may require” and inserting “The Secretary of Defense shall require”;(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph (2):“(2) The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement for a direct payment to a travel care issuer under paragraph (1) in any case the Secretary determines appropriate.”.(b) Determinations of Creditworthiness for Issuance of Defense Travel Card.—Section 2784a of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection (d):117 STAT. 1588 “(d) Determinations of Creditworthiness for Issuance of Defense Travel Card.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall evaluate the creditworthiness of an employee of the Department of Defense or a member of armed forces before issuing a Defense travel card to such an employee or member. The evaluation may include an examination of the individual’s credit history in available credit records.“(2) An individual may not be issued a Defense travel card if the individual is found not creditworthy as a result of the evaluation required under paragraph (1).”.(c) Disciplinary actions and assessing penalties for misuse of defense travel cards.—(1) Requirement for regulations.—Section 2784a of title 10, United States Code, is further amended by inserting after subsection (d) (as added by subsection (b)) the following new subsection (e):“(e) Regulations on Disciplinary Action.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations for making determinations regarding the taking of disciplinary action, including assessment of penalties, against Department of Defense personnel for improper, fraudulent, or abusive use of Defense travel cards by such personnel.“(2) The regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) shall—“(A) provide for appropriate adverse personnel actions or other punishment to be imposed in cases in which employees of the Department of Defense violate such regulations or are negligent or engage in misuse, abuse, or fraud with respect to a Defense travel card, including removal in appropriate cases; and“(B) provide that a violation of such regulations by a person subject to chapter 47 of this title (the Uniform Code of Military Justice) is punishable as a violation of section 892 of this title (article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).”.(2) Report.—Not later than February 1, 2004, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the regulations prescribed under section 2784a(e) of title 10, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1). The report shall include the following:(A) The regulations.(B) A discussion of the implementation of the regulations.(C) A discussion of any additional administrative action, or any recommended legislation, that the Secretary considers necessary to effectively take disciplinary action against and penalize Department of Defense personnel for improper, fraudulent, or abusive use of Defense travel cards by such personnel.(3) Defense Travel Card Defined.—In this subsection, the term “Defense travel card” has the meaning given such term in section 2784a(f)(1) of title 10, United States Code (as redesignated by subsection (b)).117 STAT. 1589