GovernmentExecutive.com

The effort to shut down the $474 million Defense Travel System achieved a major victory Thursday when an amendment blocking future funding was included in the Senate version of the fiscal 2007 Defense authorization bill.

The amendment, proposed by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., prohibits the Defense Department from spending funds on the Web-based travel booking system and requires the Pentagon to set up a travel system using a service fee pricing method similar to that used in the General Services Administration's eTravel Service.

The authorization bill (S. 2767) passed the Senate Thursday shortly after the amendment was approved by voice vote. It must be resolved with the House version -- which does not include the amendment -- in conference committee.

The Defense Department is in the final months of a contract with Northrop Grumman Corp. to develop the long-awaited end-to-end electronic travel booking system. When the contract is up at the end of September, the Pentagon will own the system, which will be used by 90 to 95 percent of Defense travelers.

An attempt earlier this week to attach a similar amendment to the House version of the fiscal 2007 Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 5631) was rejected on a 285-141 vote.

The DTS contract, awarded in May 1998, has survived several attacks, including an attempt led by Coburn to end the program last October.

A statement from Coburn's office said his amendment "reforms the costly and delinquent Defense Travel System." Coburn said a "fee for use" system will improve efficiency and create savings.

Darryl Fraser, vice president of Northrop's Washington operations, said once the DTS contract runs out in September, it will be up to Congress and the Defense Department to decide how to move forward.

The Pentagon needs the system to eliminate the administrative hassles of booking airline flights and receiving financial reimbursement, Fraser said. Without it, the department would have to revert to expensive and administratively complex manual processes, he said.

Northrop and Defense officials have maintained in the past that GSA's eTravel systems, which include Northrop's GovTrip system, do not fulfill the Pentagon's requirements for an end-to-end departmentwide travel system.

In January, the Government Accountability Office reported on critical flaws and incomplete testing of DTS that resulted in lengthy delays. Northrop officials say the problems identified in the report have been corrected.

COMMENTS

• DTS is a constant source of grief in our division (full of engineers, physicists and software types). As a traveler, the layout is ghastly and cryptic. We, too, shop sites like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity to verify that DTS is not sending us "around our elbow to get to the thumb." We often comment that we are the highest paid travel agents in the United States. The contractors who work with us have the hassle free option of using the services mentioned, above, and generally smile in the process. GovExec.com reader Posted August 3, 2006 1:44 PM
• The basic idea behind DTS -- fast and cost efficient processing of travel orders and vouchers - was never successfully implemented. The program is not user-friendly and fails to guide travelers through all of the screens that should be accessed while processing orders and while preparing a travel voucher. In addition, the reservation process is horrible! I often have to have a window open with expedia.com running so that I can find lodging at per diem rate ... and I sometimes have to make the reservations manually because (even though a room is available at the government rate) DTS can't "see" it. Travelers also have to be cunning in planning their trips to minimize travel costs. For example, when going TDY for training in Vero Beach, Fla., it is more cost effective (by about $400) to fly into Orlando, Fla., than Melbourne, Fla., since the traveler would have to drive from the airport to the TDY destination anyway. Figuring this out, however, is time consuming using DTS, whereas a seasoned travel agent can determine the most cost effective travel method much faster. Again, using a travel search engine while accessing DTS expedites this process. I wonder if the new GSA fee-based system would be more like the online search engines or a step backwards in the pursuit of efficient travel? GovExec.com reader Posted June 26, 2006 9:59 AM