Latest attempt to cut Defense Travel System fails
Final version of authorization bill orders independent study of system.
The Pentagon's $474 million travel booking system survived another congressional attack when negotiators stripped a Senate amendment blocking funding for the program from the fiscal 2007 Defense authorization bill.
The compromise version of the legislation (H.R. 5122), approved by both chambers of Congress late last week, would require the Pentagon to hold off on issuing a new contract for the Defense Travel System until there is a schedule to phase out legacy travel systems. The department also would have to develop fixed requirements for DTS.
In addition, Defense officials would be required to submit an independent study of DTS to congressional defense committees no later than 180 days after the enactment of the bill and to follow up with a report detailing the changes made based on the study's recommendations.
An amendment to the final Senate version of the bill, proposed by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., would have prohibited the Defense Department from spending funds on the Web-based travel booking system. It also would have required the Pentagon to set up a travel system using a service fee pricing method similar to the General Services Administration's eTravel Service.
In June, when the amendment passed, the Pentagon was in the final months of a contract with Northrop Grumman Corp. to develop the long-awaited end-to-end electronic travel booking system. The contract expired Sept. 29.
A Northrop Grumman spokeswoman said the company received a six-month extension for continuing DTS operations and maintenance. The extension anticipates that the government will re-compete the DTS contract, according to a pre-solicitation notice posted on FedBizOpps.
Northrop Grumman has a separate six-month contract under the Defense Travel Management Office for DTS help desk support and sustainment training. The office expects to hold a competition for help desk support, the Northrop Grumman spokeswoman said.
The DTS contract, awarded in May 1998, has survived several attacks in addition to the most recent one. These include another by Coburn a year ago. A second attempt failed when House members in June rejected by a vote of 285-141 an amendment to the fiscal 2007 Defense appropriations bill that would have cut off the system's funding.
Last week, the Government Accountability Office reported that an estimate the implementation of DTS would produce $56 million in annual net savings was based on unreliable information.
"Taxpayers don't need any more studies to know that DTS has become the defense industry's bridge to nowhere," said John Hart, a spokesman for Coburn's office.
"Congress should end this boondoggle and stop appeasing Northrop lobbyists," Hart said. "Congress may be rewarding Northrop for its inept handling of this program. It seems that they're giving them more opportunity to make money off of this program."