---
type: "LegalText"
title: "38 U.S.C. § 728"
description: "Misuse of Department purchase cards"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 38
title_name: "VETERANS’ BENEFITS"
chapter_number: "7"
chapter_name: "EMPLOYEES"
section: "728"
citation: "38 U.S.C. § 728"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc38@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t38/s728"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-38/usc38.xml"
source_hash: "2ea244b42a845935b76455b0688ee8f8d608e471420df5f52388302072861046"
raw_snapshot_hash: "372998691b72ade88787dfa7633dbda4954bd1b037ec7926c5e06e9b1d17fc66"
text_hash: "bd5278959f5e60df7eacd9e29bcd6ccdbaaf91f0f2c380587b9f036ca06dc1ec"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 38 U.S.C. § 728 - Misuse of Department purchase cards

## Text

(a) In General.— (1) The Secretary shall prohibit any employee of the Department who the Secretary or the Inspector General of the Department determines has knowingly misused a purchase card from serving as a purchase card holder or approving official.

(2) Such a prohibition shall be in addition to any other applicable penalty.

(b) Misuse.— For purposes of this section, the term “misuse” means—

(1) splitting purchases;

(2) exceeding applicable purchase card limits or purchase thresholds;

(3) purchasing any unauthorized item;

(4) using a purchase card without being an authorized purchase card holder; or

(5) violating ethics standards.

(Added Pub. L. 115–407, title V, § 501(a), Dec. 31, 2018, 132 Stat. 5376.)