Federal employees will find it easier to figure out their share of costs for side trips taken while on official government travel, thanks to the rule-rewriting efforts of two General Service Administration employees.
Jim Harte and Umeki Thorne, program analysts at GSA, clarified a 194-word rule on government-sponsored travel, trimming it down to 45 words. Last week, Vice President Al Gore presented the duo with the third of his plain language awards for their efforts.
"Their work makes the rules easier to understand and to follow," Gore said. "This is about making our government work better for our dedicated employees and for our customers, the American people."
The regulation Harte and Throne rewrote used to read: "When a person for his/her own convenience travels by an indirect route or interrupts travel by a direct route, the extra expenses shall be borne by him/her. Reimbursement for expenses shall be based only on such charges as would have been incurred by a usually traveled route. An employee may not use contract airline/rail passenger service provided under contract with the General Services Administration for that portion or travel by an indirect route which is for personal convenience. Additionally, an employee may not use a U.S. Government Transportation Request (GTR) or a contractor-issued charge card for procurement of commercial carrier transportation services for that portion of travel by an indirect route which is for personal convenience..."
The rewritten version simply asks the question "What is my liability if, for personal convenience, I travel or use an indirect route?" The answer is: "If you travel on government business by anything other than the most direct, least cost route available, you must pay for the added costs so the taxpayers don't."
The "No Gobbledygook Award" is part of Gore's plain language initiative, launched in July. Under the initiative, federal agencies must write all letters, forms, notices and instructions in plain English starting in October. All regulations must be written in plain English beginning in January 1999.
Federal employees from a dozen agencies have banded together to form the Plain Language Action Network. The group's Web site lists online resources for improving writing and explains how to apply for a No Gobbledygook Award.
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