GSA releases fiscal 2004 per diem rates
The General Services Administration has announced fiscal 2004 federal per diem rates for use by federal employees traveling on official government business, with most rates remaining unchanged from those of the past two years.
The new rates for official business travel by federal employees take effect Oct. 1 and can be accessed on GSA's Web site. GSA published the rates in the Federal Register on Aug. 29.
More than 93,000 federal employees travel each day to more than 8,000 destinations, and federal officials have faced several challenges in designing a governmentwide lodging program and finding the best way to set per diem rates. In fiscal 2002, agencies spent more than $10 billion on travel costs.
GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy held most lodging rates at fiscal 2003 levels, maintaining the standard continental United States (CONUS) rate of $55 for lodging and raising the meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) rate $1 to $31. GSA establishes the standard CONUS per diem rate for all cities not specifically shown in per diem rate listings.
Several new cities made it onto the per diem list this year: Lemoore, Calif.; Stockton, Calif.; Brunswick, Ga.; Springfield, Ill.; Bloomington, Ind.; LaPlata/Indian Head, Md.; Starkville, Miss.; Asheville, N.C.; Tulsa, Okla.; State College, Penn.; Sumter, S.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Round Rock, Texas; and Warrenton, Va.
GSA is continuing to expand the two-year-old Federal Premier Lodging Program, which guarantees that a certain number of rooms are available within the per diem rate in specific geographical areas. For a full list of the cities and properties participating in the program, go to the Office of Governmentwide Policy's Web site.
In January, the 13-member Governmentwide Per Diem Advisory Board recommended that the government outsource its lodging program after reviewing GSA's per diem rate-setting process. The agency is still reviewing its options and plans to meet with federal travel managers to determine which recommendations should be implemented.