A defense appropriations bill that cleared a House-Senate conference this week will ban Pentagon military and civilian officials from using government credit cards to pay for nude entertainment at topless bars.
The fiscal 2026 Defense Appropriations Act states that none of the funds made available under the act can be used for government travel charge card expenses “for gaming, or for entertainment that includes topless or nude entertainers or participants.”
The section is contained in an appropriation that will provide $838.7 billion in defense spending for new aircraft, submarines, warships and other key defense programs.
The defense bill is part of a consolidated appropriation bill that also will fund the Department of Homeland Security.
The House passed the bill on Thursday and a final vote is expected in the Senate next week. The spending bills are facing a Jan. 30 deadline to avoid a government shutdown.
The section of the bill on credit card abuse will put into law what had been in two military and defense regulations.
Another section of the bill states that the Pentagon is prohibited from using funds to maintain or establish a computer network unless the network is “network unless such network is designed to block access to pornography websites.”
The computer filter provision does not apply to law enforcement networks or activities “necessary for the national defense, including intelligence activities.”
Past investigations from the early 2000s uncovered evidence that dozens of Pentagon officials and contractors, including some with high level security clearances, used government computers to improperly access or download pornography.
The ban on using official travel credit cards for adult entertainment comes ten years after the Pentagon inspector general issued a report on the misuse of government credit cards that highlighted the abuses at strip clubs and casinos.
The restriction also follows a Department of Government Efficiency claim in February that stated U.S. government employees hold about 4.6 million credit cards that in 2024 that were used for around 90 million transactions worth an estimated $40 billion, the DOGE account on X said in February.
The post stated that DOGE investigators were working with government agencies to simplify the program and reduce administrative costs.
Several inspector general reports, including most recently in January 2025, highlighted the problem of misuse of government credit cards.
The report found that $500,000 in transactions made at nightclubs, casinos, mobile app stores, bars, and major sporting events, including the Super Bowl were questionable.
Another 3.9 million transactions, totaling $1.2 billion, were not even reviewed by supervisors, the IG found.
A Pentagon inspector general report from August 2016 faulted defense leaders for failing to take punitive action against defense and military personnel that abused government credit cards by obtaining reimbursement for the questionable expenses.
“We determined whether DoD cardholders who used government travel cards at casinos and adult entertainment establishments for personal use sought or received reimbursement for their charges,” the IG report said.
A year earlier, the IG stated in a separate report that Pentagon card holders improperly used travel charge cards at strip clubs and casinos. That report found that from July 2013 to June 2014, 900 transactions were for adult entertainment establishments worth $96,576, and 4,437 transactions for personal use at casinos for $952,258.
The charges included military service members spending at places such as Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, Red Parrot Gentleman’s Club, Dreams Cabaret and Vega Showgirls.
Casino use of Pentagon travel cards for cash machines were detected at the Maryland Live! Casino.
Both IG reports called on defense leaders to utilize policies that would identify potential fraud and impose tougher internal controls.
The IG said the misuse of the credit cards posed “potential national security vulnerabilities” from official cardholders with may be security risks, “including extensive travel card misuse, questionable judgment, the decision not to follow rules and guidance, financial concerns, or gambling addictions.”
