Eben PeckVice President, Government AffairsAmerican Society of Travel Agents

Where We Are Today•Scandal! See GSA, IRS (2010)•May 2012 OMB Memo

• All agency travel budgets cut 30% from 2010 levels

• High-level review of conference spending above $100K

• No conference spending above $500K w/out a Secretarial waiver

•Overall Federal Budget Situation

Congressional Response•Hearings•Legislative Response Falls into 3 Categories:

• Travel budgets• Conferences/conference spending• Fed employee attendance at

conferences (gov’t & private sector)•Easy Issue to Demagogue

Government Travel Legislation

Government Spending Accountability (GSA) Act of 2013 (H.R. 313)• Codifies OMB memo through FY2018• Agency can’t spend more than $500K on a conference• Agency can’t send more than 50 employees to an international conference• Status: Passed House July 2013 by voice vote

Stay in Place, Cut the Waste Act of 2013 (H.R. 2643)• Calls for use of video conferencing to cut travel expenses 50% from FY2013 or

“the greatest reduction in such expenses [OMB] considers feasible”• Status: In committee, but 53 bipartisan cosponsors

Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013 (H.R. 2061)• Additional reporting/transparency• Same as GSA Act on conference spending, travel budgets (30% cut through

2018)• Status: Passed House 388 to 1 in November; Senate version pending

Government Travel Legislation (Cont.)

Conference Accountability Act of 2013 (S. 1347)• Agency can’t spend more than $500K on a conference• Agency can’t send more than 50 employees to an international conference• Cuts travel budgets to 80% of FY2010 levels

FY2014 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (P.L. 113-76)• Reporting on conferences costing more than $100K• Requires compliance with May 2012 OMB Memo• Prohibits agencies from sending more than 50 employees to an international

conference

Issa/Coburn Amendment to 2012 DATA Act• Broad definition of a “conference”• Detailed reporting on every conference attended by a federal employee• Appears to prohibit employee attendance at more than one conference per year

Congressional Response – Hearings•January Senate Homeland Security Hearing•Comments Call into Question the Value of Managed Government Travel, Managed Travel Generally

• “When I book a flight, I don't pay anything and neither do the rest of America when they book it directly…Why does a federal employee, because they book a flight, have to pay seven bucks if they book it themselves or 30 bucks if they took it through a travel agent? Why are we using travel agents instead of booking a flight?”

•SGTP Response•Issue Calls for Close Watching, Educating Policymakers

Outlook – Where Do We Go From Here?

Outlook (Cont.)•State of the Federal Budget – Deficits as Far as the Eye Can See•OMB Memo – Law of the Land•Government Travel Will Remain a Target for Cuts in the Near Term•Objective #1 – Educate Policymakers•Objective #2 – “Good Defense”

Q&As

Thank You!

epeck@asta.org(703) 739-6842