§ 3321. Disbursing authority in the executive branch

§ 3321. Disbursing authority in the executive branch

(a) Except as provided in this section or another law, only officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury designated by the Secretary of the Treasury as disbursing officials may disburse public money available for expenditure by an executive agency.

(b) For economy and efficiency, the Secretary may delegate the authority to disburse public money to officers and employees of other executive agencies.

(c) The head of each of the following executive agencies shall designate personnel of the agency as disbursing officials to disburse public money available for expenditure by the agency:

(1) United States Marshal’s Office.

(2) The Department of Defense.

(3) The Department of Homeland Security.11 So in original. The period probably should not appear. (with respect to public money available for expenditure by the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy).

(d) On request of the Secretary and with the approval of the head of an executive agency referred to in subsection (c) of this section, facilities of the agency may be used to assist in disbursing public money available for expenditure by another executive agency.

(Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 949; Pub. L. 103–355, title III, § 3067, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3337; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title IX, § 913(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 410; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title X, § 1009(a)(1), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2633; Pub. L. 109–241, title IX, § 902(b)(1), July 11, 2006, 120 Stat. 566.)

The section uses the defined term “executive agency” in section 102 of the revised title because the source provisions of this section are from a reorganization plan and executive orders that apply only to departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of the United States Government.

In subsections (a) and (b), the words “Secretary of the Treasury” and “Secretary” are substituted for references to the Division of Disbursement and a Chief Disbursing Officer because of the source provisions restated in section 321(c) of the revised title. The words “public money” are substituted for “moneys of the United States” for consistency with the other source provisions restated in the section and for consistency in the chapter.

Subsection (a) is substituted for section 4(1st paragraph) of Executive Order No. 6166 to omit executed words.

In subsection (b), the words “may require” and “as the interests of” are omitted as unnecessary. The words “to establish local offices” are omitted because of the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury as the head of the Department of the Treasury and the authority of the Secretary under section 321 of the revised title. The text of section 4(last paragraph) is omitted as superseded by section 3325 of the revised title.

In subsection (c), the text of 31:492–1(1st sentence) is applied only to the listed agencies because of subsection (a) and Executive Order 6728. The text of 31:492–1(last sentence) is omitted as superseded by section 2 of Reorganization Plan No. 18 of 1950 (eff. July 1, 1950, 64 Stat. 1270) and by 40:490. In clause (1), the words after “disbursement by United States marshals” and before the last proviso in section 3 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1940 (eff. June 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1234) are omitted as unnecessary because of 28:571 and sections 3512(a)–(c) and 3513(a) of the revised title. In clause (2), the word “pay” is substituted for “salaries” in Executive Order No. 6728 for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. The words “including the Marine Corps” are omitted as being included in “military departments”. The words “Panama Canal” are omitted because of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977. The first proviso is omitted as unnecessary because of sections 3512 and 3513 of the revised title. Section 4 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1940 is omitted because (1) the Post Office Department was abolished by the 1970 restatement of title 39, with all authority of the former Postmaster General being placed in the new United States Postal Service, (2) under 39:410 and 3604, the Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission were exempt from all provisions of law related to budget and funds, and (3) the Postal Savings System and its Board of Trustees were abolished under section 5 of the Act of March 28, 1942 (ch. 205, 56 Stat. 189).

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 109–241 substituted “Department of Homeland Security.” for “Department of Transportation”.

1996—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 104–106 added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: “The Department of Defense (except for disbursements for departmental pay and expenses in the District of Columbia).”

Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 104–201 added par. (3).

1994—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 103–355 substituted “The Department of Defense” for “military departments of the Department of Defense”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Saving Federal Dollars Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards

Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title XVIII, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1814, provided that: “SEC. 1801. SHORT TITLE.“This title may be cited as the ‘Saving Federal Dollars Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards Act of 2017’. “SEC. 1802. DEFINITIONS.“In this title:“(1) Improper payment.—The term ‘improper payment’ has the meaning given the term in [former] section 2 of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 [Pub. L. 107–300] ([former] 31 U.S.C. 3321 note [see 33 U.S.C. 3351]). “(2) Questionable transaction.—The term ‘questionable transaction’ means a charge card transaction that from initial card data appears to be high risk and may therefore be improper due to non-compliance with applicable law, regulation or policy. “(3) Strategic sourcing.—The term ‘strategic sourcing’ means analyzing and modifying a Federal agency’s spending patterns to better leverage its purchasing power, reduce costs, and improve overall performance. “SEC. 1803. EXPANDED USE OF DATA ANALYTICS.“(a) Strategy.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2017], the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator for General Services, shall develop a strategy to expand the use of data analytics in managing government purchase and travel charge card programs. These analytics may employ existing General Services Administration capabilities, and may be in conjunction with agencies’ capabilities, for the purpose of—“(1) identifying examples or patterns of questionable transactions and developing enhanced tools and methods for agency use in—“(A) identifying questionable purchase and travel card transactions; and “(B) recovering improper payments made with purchase and travel cards; “(2) identifying potential opportunities for agencies to further leverage administrative process streamlining and cost reduction from purchase and travel card use, including additional agency opportunities for card-based strategic sourcing; “(3) developing a set of purchase and travel card metrics and benchmarks for high-risk activities, which shall assist agencies in identifying potential emphasis areas for their purchase and travel card management and oversight activities, including those required by the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–194) [see Short Title of 2012 Amendment note set out under section 101 of Title 41, Public Contracts]; and “(4) developing a plan, which may be based on existing capabilities, to create a library of analytics tools and data sources for use by Federal agencies (including inspectors general of those agencies). “SEC. 1804. GUIDANCE ON IMPROVING INFORMATION SHARING TO CURB IMPROPER PAYMENTS.“(a) In General.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2017], the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services and the interagency charge card data management group established under section 1805, shall issue guidance on improving information sharing by government agencies for the purposes of section 1803(a)(1). “(b) Elements.—The guidance issued under subsection (a) shall—“(1) require relevant officials at Federal agencies to identify high-risk activities and communicate that information to the appropriate management levels within the agencies; “(2) require that appropriate officials at Federal agencies review the reports issued by charge card-issuing banks on questionable transaction activity (such as purchase and travel card pre-suspension and suspension reports, delinquency reports, and exception reports), including transactions that occur with high-risk activities, and suspicious timing or amounts of cash withdrawals or advances; “(3) provide for the appropriate sharing of information related to potential questionable transactions, fraud schemes, and high-risk activities with the General Services Administration and the appropriate officials in Federal agencies; “(4) consider the recommendations made by Inspectors General or the best practices Inspectors General have identified; and “(5) include other requirements determined appropriate by the Director for the purposes of carrying out this title. “SEC. 1805. INTERAGENCY CHARGE CARD DATA MANAGEMENT GROUP.“(a) Establishment.—The Administrator of General Services and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall establish a purchase and travel charge card data management group to develop and share best practices for the purposes described in section 1803(a). “(b) Elements.—The best practices developed under subsection (a) shall—“(1) cover rules, edits, and task order or contract modifications related to charge card-issuing banks; “(2) include the review of accounts payable information and purchase and travel card transaction data of agencies for the purpose of identifying potential strategic sourcing and other additional opportunities (such as recurring payments, utility payments, and grant payments) for which the charge cards or related payment products could be used as a payment method; and “(3) include other best practices as determined by the Administrator and Director. “(c) Membership.—The purchase and travel charge card data management group shall meet regularly as determined by the co-chairs, for a duration of three years, and include those agencies as described in section 2 of the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–194) [enacting section 1909 of Title 41, Public Contracts and provisions set out as a note under section 1909 of Title 41 and amending section 2784 of Title 10, Armed Forces] and others identified by the Administrator and Director. “SEC. 1806. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.“(a) General Services Administration Report.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2017], the Administrator for General Services shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives a report on the implementation of this title, including the metrics used in determining whether the analytic and benchmarking efforts have reduced, or contributed to the reduction of, questionable transactions or improper payments as well as improved utilization of card-based payment products. “(b) Agency Reports and Consolidated Report to Congress.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal agency described in section 2 of the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–194) shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on that agency’s activities to implement this title. “(c) Office of Management and Budget Report to Congress.—The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives a consolidated report of agency activities to implement this title, which may be included as part of another report submitted by the Director to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives. “(d) Report on Additional Savings Opportunities.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives a report identifying and exploring further potential savings opportunities for government agencies under the Federal charge card programs. This report may be combined with the report required under subsection (a).”

Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics

Pub. L. 114–186, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 546, known as the “Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act of 2015”, which established financial and administrative controls relating to fraud and improper payments, including the establishment of a working group, was repealed by Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(a)(4), Mar. 2, 2020, 134 Stat. 133.

Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement

Pub. L. 112–248, Jan. 10, 2013, 126 Stat. 2390, as amended by Pub. L. 113–67, div. A, title II, § 204(c), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1181; Pub. L. 114–109, §§ 2–4, Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2225–2227; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(b)(53), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4349, known as the “Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012”, which set out to improve identification, prevention, and recovery of improper payments, including through the establishment of the Do Not Pay Initiative, was repealed by Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(a)(3), Mar. 2, 2020, 134 Stat. 133.

Determinations of Agency Readiness for Opinion on Internal Control

Pub. L. 111–204, § 2(g), July 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 2228, which provided for determinations of agency readiness for opinions on internal control, was repealed by Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(a)(2), Mar. 2, 2020, 134 Stat. 133.

Recovery Audits

Pub. L. 111–204, § 2(h), July 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 2228, as amended by Pub. L. 112–248, § 3(c)(1), Jan. 10, 2013, 126 Stat. 2392, which provided that certain agencies would conduct recovery audits and set out terms and procedures for the audits, was repealed by Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(a)(2), Mar. 2, 2020, 134 Stat. 133.

Compliance

Pub. L. 111–204, § 3, July 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 2232, as amended by Pub. L. 112–248, § 3(c)(2), Jan. 10, 2013, 126 Stat. 2392, which provided for compliance procedures and standards related to the recovery of improper payments, was repealed by Pub. L. 116–117, § 3(a)(2), Mar. 2, 2020, 134 Stat. 133.

Improper Payments