GSA announces another delay in mandatory travel card policy

All federal employees must begin using travel charge cards for their travel expenses beginning May 1, the General Services Administration announced Thursday.

The announcement marks the third time GSA has delayed the start date of the mandatory travel card use policy, as some agencies struggle to make changes to their financial systems to comply with the mandate. The start date was originally Jan. 1. It was then pushed to February 29, and then to May 1 for a handful of agencies. The latest announcement allows all agencies to take advantage of the May 1 extension.

"This delay will allow agencies time to work out the details of implementation of the mandatory use of the travel charge card regulations," said GSA's announcement in the March 30 Federal Register. The mandatory use rule was established by the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998.

Some agencies have already implemented the travel charge card requirements, because they are not having the troubles other agencies are having. Travelers should check with their agencies to see if the mandatory use rule is already in effect or when the rule will take effect for them.

Some agencies are having problems with a provision in the 1998 law penalizing agencies that fail to reimburse employees for travel expenses within 30 days. If an agency fails to promptly issue a reimbursement, the agency must pay the employee a late fee, based on the Prompt Payment Act interest rate. The rate is available through the Treasury Department's Financial Management Service. (See www.fms.treas.gov/prompt.)

The departments of State, Veterans Affairs and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have delayed the requirement until May 1 to work out changes in their financial systems to handle the late fee requirement. Several financial officials have already said their systems will not meet the May 1 deadline.

The systems committee of the Chief Financial Officers Council has asked GSA to consider allowing agencies to pay employees flat late fees, an option GSA is now considering.

In the meantime, many agencies plan to calculate late payments manually rather than run them through automated systems. The Defense Department, which has delayed mandatory use until May 1, plans to manually process any late interest payments. The department hopes such payments will be few and far between; Defense officials say the Defense Travel System is designed to reimburse employees 72 hours after their claims are approved.

The Office of Personnel Management also plans to calculate late payments manually because the agency is in the process of replacing its automated travel system, which OPM officials said doesn't work well.

Bill Early, chief financial officer at GSA, said his agency's automated travel system will reimburse employees quickly, but will also be able to handle the late payment calculations if necessary.