Bush administration seeks to let feds keep frequent flier miles

The Bush administration has backed legislation that would allow federal employees to keep frequent flier miles earned on official travel.

The administration has sent a proposed fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill to Capitol Hill that includes language to repeal restrictions on the personal use of frequent flier miles for both military and civilian employees. The bill could be introduced in the House as early as this week, according to G. Jerry Shaw, general counsel to the Senior Executives Association.

Frequent flier miles are generally considered the property of agencies, not individual travelers, and using them for personal travel is, for the most part, illegal.

Earlier this year, General Accounting Office chief David Walker floated the idea of changing the frequent flier rules.

In a speech before the Senior Executives Association's annual Career Executive Leadership Conference Tuesday, Walker said the Bush administration had decided to back an effort to overturn the policy.

"I worked with DoD and the administration and that has been included in the Defense [authorization] bill and the administration supports it," said Walker.

Allowing federal employees to use frequent flier miles earned on official travel for personal use sends the message that employees are trusted and respected at a time when recruiting and retaining employees is critical, Walker said.

Some agencies, including the General Services Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, already have implemented gainsharing programs that allow employees who earn miles during official travel to keep some of the savings their agencies get by using such miles.

The new legislation "does not preclude agencies from setting up gainsharing programs if they want to," Walker said. "If employees want to be able to use some of their frequent flier miles to be able to save the government money, then let them do that and let the government share in the savings. It's a win-win."

In May, GAO sent a report to Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., recommending that he introduce legislation to allow federal workers to keep the frequent flier miles they earn. Late last month, Burton's spokesman said such legislation was being drafted.