TOPICS
TOPICS
Traveling Light
Retired astronaut and former Senator John Glenn, D-Ohio, has done a favor for employees at the federal research center bearing his name, though he may not know it.
As of last spring, workers at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland have a new way to make a little extra money, thanks to a program -- made possible in part by a law Glenn introduced -- that rewards frugal travel habits.
The NASA facility launched the Gainsharing Travel Savings Program to motivate employees traveling on official business to skimp on flights and lodging by letting them keep a cut of the savings.
Glenn Center employees get to keep half of any travel savings below the government contract rate, provided they save at least $50 per trip and reach a cumulative savings of $200 by the end of the fiscal year. Savings can come by staying with friends or family, finding cheaper fares or alternate routes of transportation, sharing hotel rooms or using personal frequent flier miles for official travel.
Glenn officials said they saved $29,000 from the program's May 2005 start through the end of fiscal 2005 on Sept. 30. Over that time, they awarded 44 employees a total of $14,000 -- an average of more than $300 each.
Any take-home money from this program should be credited, at least in part, to the facility's namesake. Glenn introduced the 1994 bill that provided agencies with the flexibility to promote frequent flier programs among federal employees.
Under language in civil service laws authorizing cash awards for employees who personally contribute to government efficiency, agencies have license to create gainsharing travel programs like the one in Ohio.
But employees can only reap the benefits of cheap travel habits if their agency exercises this license by establishing a specific program with gainsharing guidelines. Even Glenn's program is still up in the air, according to Robert Fails, associate director of the center.
"The Gainsharing Travel Savings Program has been well received by Glenn employees, and we expect participation and savings to grow," Fails said. "However, the program is still in its pilot phase, and we will be periodically evaluating the costs and benefits of gainsharing to determine whether the program will continue."
Glenn's program isn't the only one of its kind. Fails said they patterned it after similar ones at the Agriculture, Commerce, Interior and Justice departments.
Utility of these programs was somewhat reduced when the General Services Administration changed its regulations in 2002 to allow federal employees to keep frequent flier miles from official travel.
Employees at the Bonneville Power Administration, a Portland, Ore.-based federal agency that administers power from dams in the region, hardly use their gainsharing travel program. That's because of the new frequent flier rules, according to BPA manager of disbursement operations, Mike Caldwell.
"It's still there on the books," Caldwell said. But "times have changed."
Still, the program allows employees to convert frequent flier miles to cash, something the airlines won't do.
COMMENTS
- It sure would be nice if your writers would get the facts at least somewhat correct. In this article you reference the Interior Department as having a gain sharing program. The Department of the Interior has never recognized a gain sharing program as being authorized or beneficial. Several attempts were made to try to justify a gain sharing program; however, the administrative costs and abuse potential prevented serious consideration. These payments must be included in taxable income and the probably requires the agency to deduct and pay FICA tax. Further, giving an employee half the cost of a hotel room to go to a city and spend the night with a significant other or a relative does not seem to foster an appearance of good management of taxpayer money. These programs have been filled with abuse. If the government needs an employee to travel, an allowance should be paid for the necessary expenses, not a bonus because employee has a friend or relative in a particular city that they want to visit at government expense. Too bad the facts in the story could not have kept straight. GSA was one of the front runners in this program – How many employees above the grade of GS-13 benefited and how many in the grades GS-13 and below benefited? These statistics might provide more insight into the program. Les Oden Posted February 2, 2006 3:36 PM
- This is the stupidest thing I have heard of in government spending. Of course you can find an air carrier with a cheaper fare depending on the flight and the airports. The government negotiates special fares based on expected travel for all its locations - that is what a government rate is! (same for hotels). I almost always can beat the contract carriers’ rate but the guys in Hawaii and overseas can almost never beat the rate. That is because we pay slightly more on our rates that those that would have very high travel rates. Rates are negotiated across the entire system not on a flight by flight basis. The people in Cleveland getting "better" rates on discount carriers is causing the rates on the contract carriers to go up in the next negotiation because their flights are not counted in determining the overall rates across the government. In addition we pay the "savers" based on the contract rates so we pay twice for the same thing! This illustrates how stupid Congress is when it comes to day-to-day operations in the government. The federal government has become so large that even Congress is not competent to determine how it should operate. Good "buy" and good luck! Taxpayer Posted February 3, 2006 7:01 AM
- It's clear that Peggy doesn't see the big picture. She provides that she spends $200 when the government spends $400. Guess what, it costs about $50 to change thereby saving $150. And all the time she's worried about finding cheaper fares isn't a reality either. You can simply go into one of the many travel search engines like Travelocity, Expedia or Cheaptickets and it's at your fingertips in moments. In addition, the hotels are cheaper too. I live in the reality of the high costs we pay. GovExec.com reader Posted February 4, 2006 12:46 PM
