CT Senate GOP Statement on Audit Finding More P-Card Misuse in CSCU System

Sen. Stephen Harding, Sen. Henri Martin, Sen. Heather Somers and Sen. Rob Sampson issued the following statement regarding a state auditors’ report which reveals more purchasing card (P-Card) noncompliance instances in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system.

“Haven’t we read about this government P-card misuse before?

Unfortunately, yes, we have.

This latest audit cites:

– purchases without supporting documentation

– purchases made by someone other than the assigned cardholder

– lack of authorization forms

– purchases that were delivered to an address other than to the university campus

– the splitting of orders to circumvent the single transaction dollar limit.

The past P-card misspending on pricey steak dinners, alcohol and chauffeur services by Terrence Cheng, the former Chancellor of the CSCU system, was downplayed as ‘small ball’ by Gov. Ned Lamont.

Taxpayers might be interested to know that they continue to pay Cheng a whopping $442,000 a year for an ill-defined advisory role where he doesn’t have to attend government meetings.

We thank the auditors for their work and for continuing to stress the need for stronger internal controls.”

The audit summary can be found here: https://wp.cga.ct.gov/apa/wp-content/cgacustom/reports/Southern%20Connecticut%20State%20University_20251105_FY2021,2022.pdf