Revised regulations being implemented pertaining to the utilization of General Services Administration travel guidance for federal agency personnel and for TDY travel are expected to result in fewer miscommunications and allow more expeditious implementation of travel requirements.
Let me rephrase that.
The General Services Administration is rewriting its travel regulations to make them easier to use and understand.
GSA is taking the Federal Travel Regulation, which sets government travel policy, and translating its rules chapter-by-chapter from bureaucratese into plain English. In the new format, rules are presented as questions and answers.
For example, one old rule used to read:
"No allowance for travel of 12 hours or less. A per diem allowance shall not be allowed for official travel of 12 hours or less. (This requirement also applies to travel incident to a change of official station.)"
GSA's wordsmiths simplified the rule into a question a federal traveler might ask:
Q: "Will I be reimbursed for per diem expenses if my official travel is 12 hours or less?
A: No."
GSA has finished revising two chapters, which were published in the Federal Register and posted to GSA's Web site last week. The first chapter describes how to use the Federal Travel Regulation, while the second covers short-term, or "temporary duty" (TDY), travel. The redesigned chapters are split into separate sections for employees and agencies.
The remaining three chapters of the Federal Travel Regulation will be revised by the end of the fiscal year, said Bill Rivers, acting director of GSA's travel and transportation management division.
Rivers said the old regulation went overboard, trying to cover all situations in which a federal traveler might find himself. The new, simpler format gives more discretion to agencies and travelers.
"The Federal Travel Regulation had become a really cumbersome document," Rivers said. "Now we're trying to move some of the authority back to the agencies themselves."
Agencies may have to revise their own travel rules, since GSA is giving up some of its authority by dropping nit-picky language from its regulations.
Some of the changes are more than just semantic, however. For example, GSA is eliminating its standard voucher for travel expenses. Each agency can now have its own voucher, as long as certain pieces of information are collected.
At the same time, GSA is requiring travelers to use a travel management system for all bookings by 2001. Now, travelers can book a hotel or rental car themselves, without first going through a travel agent, an electronic system, or an in-house system. Rivers said that makes it difficult for the government to collect travel data. Without such data, GSA has trouble striking discount deals with hotels and transportation companies.
GSA hopes to hear from federal employees and agencies as they test out the new format so the regulations can be improved to meet travelers' needs, Rivers said. Focus groups gave the revised chapters thumbs-up reviews; now all federal travelers can try the new regulations on for size.
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