Governmentwide Travel Management: Views on the Proposed Travel Reform and Savings Act

GAO discussed the provisions of the proposed Travel Reform and Savings Act, focusing on governmentwide travel practices. GAO found that the proposed legislation would: (1) make federal travel practices more similar to private- sector practices; (2) result in significant efficiency gains and cost savings; (3) allow employees to travel without authorization documents, automate and streamline expense reporting, and use an integrated travel system; (4) establish travel data standards, assist federal agencies in their benchmarking efforts, and redesign temporary duty travel processes; (5) repeal the requirement that long-distance telephone cards be certified, require the use of a travel charge card, and reimburse employees for taxes on money received for travel expenses; (6) set allowances for seeking permanent resident quarters, temporary quarters subsistence expenses, and resident transaction expenses; (7) establish authority in paying for property management, provide employment assistance services to spouses, and transport privately owned motor vehicles; (8) pay for limited relocation allowances for employees on extended assignments; and (9) enable federal agencies to save millions of dollars in government relocation and travel costs.