Agriculture chooses EDS for huge eTravel program

The Agriculture Department has awarded the largest federal contract so far under the General Service Administration's new eTravel Service arrangement, a deal that could be worth as much as $93 million over 10 years.

EDS, a Texas-based technology contractor, won the contract, company and Agriculture officials announced Wednesday. EDS will use its FedTraveler.com service for Agriculture's travel planning and authorization, reservations, voucher approval, reporting and auditing. The contract begins with a two-and-a-half-year base period, with agency options to extend the agreement.

Agriculture officials expect the system to be fully in place by 2006. The initiative is one of the Bush administration's 24 e-government projects.

The decision was made by Agriculture's eTravel Services executive selection board, according to Jim Brownlee, a department spokesman.

"It was a unanimous decision to make sure that USDA has one of the best systems at the lowest cost," he said. "We look forward to seeing the system implemented."

Last year, EDS protested its exclusion from the government's eTravel initiative. GSA initially awarded a 10-year, $450 million contract to Northrop Grumman and CW Government Travel Inc. to provide online travel management to agencies. EDS protested that decision to what was then known as the General Accounting Office, claiming that its eTravel service was better and less expensive.

In protesting the initial decision, EDS officials derided the eTravel work that Northrop Grumman had already taken on.

"Their Defense Travel System, which they claim forms the basis of their eTravel service solution, has doubled in both cost and time to complete since it was awarded five years ago," said EDS spokesman Kevin Clarke.

GSA officials eventually reopened the eTravel competition, and GAO dismissed the complaint. In November, EDS won a place alongside the two other eTravel contractors. All three companies can now offer their eTravel services to federal agencies.

EDS officials expressed confidence in their product Wednesday.

"FedTraveler.com is the most complete travel management service available," said Jim Duffey, EDS vice president for U.S. government issues. "It is designed to manage the entire travel process, replacing costly and time-consuming manual processes."