Ask the Experts

Air Time

Q: City pair contracts cause trips to be much longer than necessary, wasting time for the traveler and the government. They prevent direct flights and efficient use of time. For example, I have had to travel more than 300 miles east to fly 1,000 miles west when I could have been on a direct flight, saving half a day's labor. When I go from the Southeast to the West Coast, I have to take a four-leg route that takes about 10 hours, just because it saves the government $23. No consideration is given to my time, on or off the job. Plus there often are only a couple of flights a day, restricting our options and taking up even more time unnecessarily. Why are we bound by this program, even when it makes no sense, time- or money-wise?

A: A traveler's time is very important to GSA. We give a big preference to nonstop service. We also prefer shorter flight times. Occasionally, an air carrier with nonstop service may not offer that route to the government, or it may offer it at an exorbitant fare. However, the vast majority of the time, when nonstop service exists in a market, the contract is awarded to the nonstop air carrier. To ensure that government travelers aren't forced to go too far out of their way, GSA places limits on circuity. Circuity is the travel distance beyond the direct air distance (as the crow flies) on a given route. Circuity limitations vary depending on flight mileage. When it isn't possible to award nonstop service, GSA may award contracts for city pairs with one connection. GSA does not contract for service with more than one connection.

Once an award is made, travelers can buy any service the carrier offers in a given market. For example, the carrier may offer nonstop service, single-connect flights and a triple-connect. Travelers or travel management centers may construct their own routes, which may feature multiple connections.

Considering service and pricing, the GSA City Pair Program is the best value in the sky. - Sue McIver

The Check's in the Mail

Q: Reimbursement never comes before travel card bills are due. This is a hardship for our staff, putting them in jeopardy of poor credit ratings or borrowing to pay the bill. This is a horror especially if you travel more than once a month or go on an extended trip. What is the government doing about this situation?

A: Federal employees must submit travel claims within five working days after completing a trip. Those on long-term travel must submit every 30 days. This should give agencies sufficient time to process claims before the bill is due.

Congress has recognized the need to reimburse travelers in a timely manner. The 1998 Travel and Transportation Reform Act requires agencies to reimburse travelers within 30 days of the date proper vouchers are submitted. If an agency fails to do so, it must pay a penalty to the employee.

In a recent report to Congress, major federal agencies said they reimburse travelers within an average of 9.9 days for temporary duty travel. They also indicated that 97.8 percent of temporary duty travel invoices are reimbursed within 30 days.

My personal experience with GSA's automated reimbursement system is that I have the money in my bank account an average of four days after I submit the voucher. If you are not being reimbursed in a timely manner, contact your agency travel manager for assistance. - Bill Rivers

Where Credit Is Due

Q: I resent being forced to carry the government's debt via the travel card. It is not right that I should have to ensure the payment of a debt owed by the government. I am responsible to the credit card company and am liable for the payment. Also, a person can be turned down for a loan because credit reports show they have too much credit available, even if their payment history is good.

A: Congress passed the 1998 Travel and Transportation Reform Act mandating the use of the government travel charge cards for employees on official travel after Feb. 29, 2000. Employees now are required to use the government travel charge card for all official expenses unless an exemption has been granted. The law does allow an agency head to exempt any type or class of agency personnel.

Under the terms of the GSA SmartPay master contract, banks cannot release any credit information on individually billed accounts unless the card has been canceled due to nonpayment. GSA's master contracts with the card companies specify no late fees against an individually billed card unless it is 120 calendar days past the closing date on the statement. But each agency's task order may contain incentives to pay on time.

Accounts may be canceled when they are not paid for 120 calendar days past the closing date on the statement. An individually billed account that is canceled due to nonpayment may be reported to credit bureaus or referred to collection agencies. - Sue McIver

Frequent Frustration

Q: Why can't we use frequent flier (and hotel and car rental) miles? Hill workers and private sector employees get to keep theirs. Why are federal contractors permitted to use their bonus points for personal trips, but not federal employees? Contractors use the same taxpayer monies to fund travel that we do, so it baffles me why we can't use them. Using frequent traveler points would be a small reward for putting up with the aggravation of business travel.

A: The 1994 Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act mandates that frequent traveler benefits (such as frequent flier miles) earned by federal employees on official travel be used for official purposes only. Federal agencies don't have the latitude to allow their employees to retain those benefits for personal use. Some federal agencies recognize that this is something that should be changed as a quality-of-life issue for federal travelers. Discussions are going on now about requesting legislative relief for federal employees in this area. - Bill Rivers

Road Rage

Q: I wish the government would quit hassling us over rental cars. I routinely manage millions of dollars on contracts but am not deemed competent to make a $40 decision about renting a car. That's silly. I hate having to rely on public transit because my agency will not fund rental cars. Sometimes the taxi from the airport is more expensive than a car would have been.

A: The Federal Travel Regulation allows the use of rental cars when it is in the best interests of the government. The actual approval of such usage has to be at the agency level, since that agency's budget dollars are being spent.

We certainly encourage agencies to make the most cost-beneficial decisions. If a car rental is more economical than other choices, then an agency should authorize use of a car. At GSA, the travel approving officers are allowed to make that decision and do factor in such considerations as overall cost to the government. - Bill Rivers

No Room at the Inn

Q: Per diems are too low. Recently, my co-workers and I had to stay at a hotel 15 miles from the work site in order to find a hotel at per diem. Then we had to rent a car, adding to the government's expense. In major cities it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay in even moderate hotels on government hotel allowances. I've often had to change rooms because of bugs or cleanliness issues. I go to Manhattan several weeks a year and we are being forced farther and farther from Times Square, where most of our work is, because costs are well above the allowable. GSA needs to establish reasonable lodging rates that don't force us into fleabag motels or force us to beg for approval to exceed the established rate. For one upcoming assignment, GSA lists the location at the CONUS [continental United States] rate. Not a single hotel in that city has a rate that low.

A: This question brings up several aspects of the per diem process. Let me address them separately:

• While we survey almost 6,000 lodging properties each year to try to make sure that the per diem lodging rates are appropriate, we recognize that they will not be correct in every location 365 days a year. The nature of the lodging industry works against that goal. A property may give us one rate when we contact them during the survey and later charge an entirely different rate to a traveler because market circumstances changed.
  Consequently, the Federal Travel Regulation allows use of the actual expense reimbursement method if appropriate lodging cannot be found at the existing per diem rate. We encourage agencies to make the best overall decision for the government. It may be more economical to approve actual expenses than to have a traveler stay farther from a meeting and rent a car just to stay at a property at the per diem rate.
• In recognition of the difficulty in obtaining rooms in some major metropolitan markets, GSA soon will launch the Federal Premier Lodging Program (FPLP). Under the program, GSA will contract with properties in the top 75 travel markets for a guaranteed number of rooms. The local Federal Executive Boards will pick the locations to ensure they are appropriate. The boards also will help conduct on-property evaluations before contracts are awarded, so we can ensure quality. The contracts will be available to all federal travelers.
• In regard to Manhattan, the FPLP is soliciting for rooms there and hopes to award contracts by the end of summer.
• There are about 8,000 destinations for federal travelers in the continental United States. GSA sets rates above the standard CONUS rate ($55 for lodging for 2001) in almost 600 of those locations. The remaining ones fall in the CONUS rate. Just because a location is in the CONUS category doesn't mean GSA has surveyed it and determined it to be that way. We survey only those locations requested by federal agencies. We are happy to add locations to the survey. Please contact your agency travel manager to request that a location be added. - Bill Rivers

Don't see your pet peeve covered here? We'll be looking into other travel irritations and indignities in coming months. Next up: Business travel on your own time. If you don't see your complaint or question here, let us know (ltaylor@govexec.com) and we'll try to address it in an upcoming column.