A total of $40 billion was spent via the government-issued credit card program in 2024, according to DOGE.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Tuesday said it is working on simplifying and reducing the administration costs for the government-issued credit card program, which it says last year accounted for 4.6 million active cards, and 90 million unique transactions totalling $40 billion.
DOGE also released a breakdown of the departments and federal agencies, their year-to-date spending, transaction amount, and current active accounts. The National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Interior were among the federal agencies listed.
The Department of Veterans Affairs had the highest spending at over $17.3 billion, followed by the Defense Department at over $11.2 billion.
The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security spent over $1 billion each. Small agencies and organizations combined recorded over $2.3 billion in spending.
“DOGE is working [with] the agencies to simplify the program and reduce admin costs,” it said in a
statement on X, adding that it will report back in one week.
The
spending data published by DOGE is also available on the General Services Administration (GSA) website. The GSA oversees the federal government’s
SmartPay system, the world’s largest government charge card and commercial payment solutions program, according to the website. The program provides statistical summary information and monthly reporting on spending, transactions, and number of card or account holders.
The specific numbers outlined by the GSA For Fiscal Year 2024 include $39.7 billion in “total program spend” and $506 million in refunds earned by agencies and organizations. GSA also notes that $441 was spent on average for each transaction.
The latest announcement from DOGE comes as it continues to audit federal agencies including the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service. President Donald Trump’s advisory panel, led by Elon Musk, has been tasked with weeding out government waste, fraud, and abuse.
DOGE announced on Monday that it discovered $4.7 trillion in U.S.
Treasury payments that were untraceable. The Treasury Access Symbol—a code that links a budget line item to describe what the money was spent on—was missing on a number of Treasury Department payments.
DOGE has also highlighted a Department of Defense
inspector general report that found $500,000 in transactions made at casinos, bars, nightclubs, and major sporting events such as the Super Bowl.
Building on DOGE’s efforts to audit government spending, Musk recently said he would consider a proposal to send Americans tax refund checks from money saved by DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign. The idea was initially proposed by James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria. He suggested that the president has the opportunity to issue a so-called “
DOGE Dividend” in the form of a tax refund check to U.S. households that would allow American taxpayers to benefit from DOGE’s savings.
