Travel Practices: Use of Airline Bonus Coupons and Privately Funded Travel by AID Employees
NSIAD-86-26
Published: Nov 29, 1985. Publicly Released: Dec 20, 1985.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Agency for International Development's (AID) procedures for: (1) controlling and using promotional materials such as bonus flight coupons in conjunction with official travel; and (2) avoiding conflicts of interest in connection with official travel funded by private sources.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Agency for International Development | The Administrator, AID, should recover the value of the trips made by five AID employees using bonus airline coupons for unofficial travel or travel by their spouses. |
AID issued bills of collection to the five employees involved. The employees appealed the collection action to the Comptroller General (CG). In November 1987, CG denied the appeals, stating that the employees are liable for the full value of the tickets. In March 1988, one employee reimbursed AID for the value of his ticket. AID plans to reissue bills of collection to the other four employees.
|
| U.S. Agency for International Development | The Administrator, AID, should emphasize to AID employees and authorizing officials the importance of implementing newly established procedures for avoiding potential conflict of interest situations. In particular, employees and officials should be reminded that General Counsel approval must be obtained before offers by nonfederal sources to pay travel expenses are accepted. |
AID issued detailed guidance on procedures to be followed by employees before accepting payment of travel expenses from private organizations. Employees are awaiting General Counsel approval before accepting payment of travel expenses from private organizations.
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| U.S. Agency for International Development | The Administrator, AID, should instruct the General Counsel to sign off on travel authorizations where expenses will be paid by private sources as evidence of the conflict of interest review. |
As recommended by GAO, the General Counsel is revising and signing off on travel authorizations involving privately funded travel.
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| U.S. Agency for International Development | The Administrator, AID, should instruct AID employees to obtain travel authorizations for all trips involving official business, even where there is no cost to AID. Employees should be instructed to keep records of time spent on official business when trips combine business and pleasure, and to seek reimbursement from appropriated funds for expenses incurred while performing official business. |
In a GAO follow-up review, GAO did not identify additional instances where travel was performed without authorization. GAO believes that the previously identified instance was an isolated occurrence and, therefore, it is dropping this recommendation.
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Topics
Air travel allowancesConflict of interestsFederal employeesInternational travelNonprofit organizationsPrivate sectorSales promotionTravel costsAirlinesBid proposals