Policies
Here are relevant policies related to the GSA SmartPay® program.
| Title | Audience | Business Line(s) | Date Issued | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | N/A | The FAR consists of sets of regulations that govern the acquisition process. |
| Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Travel | N/A | The FTR implements statutory requirements and executive branch policies for travel by federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at government expense. |
| GSA FTR Bulletin 16-05 [PDF, 2 Pages] | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Travel | July 27, 2016 | This bulletin clarifies that federal travelers away from their duty station on official business may be reimbursed for the use of transportation network companies under the FTR when these services are permitted by local laws and ordinances. |
| Legislation Information from the Library of Congress | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | N/A | This is a source of public law. |
| National Archives and Records Administration, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | N/A | The CFR is a codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. This is a source of public law. |
| OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B [PDF, 71 pages] | A/OPCs, Card/account Holders | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | August 27, 2019 | This Circular serves as a framework for agencies to best manage their government charge card programs. |
| OMB Memorandum M-13-21 (Implementation of the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012) [PDF, 4 pages] | A/OPCs | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | September 6, 2013 | This Memo is a response to Public Law (P.L.) 112-194, the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012. It provides supplemental guidance to the OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B. |
| OMB Memorandum M-17-26 (Reducing Burden for Federal Agencies by Rescinding and Modifying OMB Memoranda) [PDF, 12 pages] | A/OPCs | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | June 15, 2017 | This memo is meant to reduce reporting burdens for the federal government. |
| OMB Memorandum M-20-21 (COVID Reporting) [PDF, 9 pages] | A/OPCs | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | April 10, 2020 |
The federal government’s aggressive response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) includes an unprecedented economic relief package for Americans in need. This memorandum directs agencies to leverage and continue to employ existing financial transparency and accountability mechanisms wherever possible. |
| Per Diem Rates | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Travel | Updated annually | Per diem rates – the allowance for lodging (excluding taxes), meals and related incidental expenses – are regularly reviewed and adjusted according to market conditions. |
| Public Law 105-264 (Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998) [PDF, 9 pages] | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Travel | October 19, 1998 | This Act mandates that federal employees use the government travel charge card for all payments of expenses related to official government travel. |
| Public Law 109-115 (Section 846 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2006) [PDF, 129 pages] | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Travel | November 30, 2005 | This Law requires agencies to assess the creditworthiness of first-time Individually Billed Account (IBA) travel charge card applicants prior to issuing a card. |
| Public Law 112-194 (Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012) [PDF, 7 pages] | A/OPCs | Purchase, Travel | October 5, 2012 | The Act requires all federal agencies to establish certain safeguards and internal controls for government charge card programs. |
| Public Law 115-232 (John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 - Section 889) [PDF, 789 pages] | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Purchase, Travel, Fleet, Integrated | August 13, 2018 | Under this Act, the purchase of covered telecommunications equipment and services from vendors who sell products containing spyware is prohibited. These devices could pose a threat to U.S. security by spying on or disrupting communications within the U.S. Check our Section 889 Representations tool for information about specific businesses. |
| Public Law 115-34 (Modernizing Government Travel Act) [PDF, 2 pages] | A/OPCs | Travel | May 16, 2017 | This Act requires the head of each federal agency to report information on travel and transportation expenditures, relocation expenditures and the number of trips for official government travel. |
| Public Law 116-160 (Charging Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies Act - CHARGE Act) [PDF, 2 pages] | A/OPCs, Card/account holders | Fleet | October 1, 2020 | Federal agencies may use the GSA SmartPay charge card to pay for the charging of federal electric motor vehicles. |
