Tag Archives: government travel

As sequester grounds federal researchers, conference organizers sing the blues

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Originally posted by Emily Yehle on E&E Publishing

More than environmental programs, more than salaries, pensions, contracts or research, politicians love to cut government travel.

It's an easy target as lawmakers look to scale back government spending; since 2011, the White House has forced agencies to cut billions of dollars from their travel coffers. In a world of email, Skype and webinars, flying thousands of miles for face-to-face meetings seems like a luxury.

Now, as agencies pare down budgets under sequestration, travel again is on the cutting block.

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Travel restrictions and cuts have saved $2B so far, says OMB

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Originally posted by  on Fierce Government

Efforts to reduce travel and increase oversight in travel and conference  spending have saved the federal government roughly $2 billion from fiscal 2010  to fiscal 2012, says Daniel Werfel, controller at the Office of Management and  Budget.

Speaking at a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing  Wednesday, Werfel said agencies expect to save another $1 billion by the end of  fiscal 2013. Efforts to save money include general travel cuts, limits on  conference expenditures, conducting training in-house and increased use of  technology such as webinars and teleconferencing to replace travel.

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Unintended consequences of limits on government travel

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Originally posted by  on The Washington Post

Concerned about government travel expenses? Here's a thought.

Slice agency budgets, across the board. Tell employees not to work one or two days a week. Don't pay them for that time. This recipe not only will reduce federal employee travel, it also will make an across-the-board cut in their morale and do a disservice to American taxpayers.

There is a better way to reduce government travel expenses, even if Congress can't find a better way to run the government than the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration,  which are set to take effect Friday.

But going too far, cutting too much travel spending in ways that aren't smart, can have unintended bad consequences -- witness the sequester.

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New GSA Offering Could Avert the Next Conference Scandal

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Originally posted by Joseph Marks on NextGov

The General Services Administration is considering building a menu of contractors offering services that can help agencies avoid the sort of conference spending scandals that rocked GSA itself in 2012, according to solicitation documents posted Tuesday.

Contractors listed on the menu would help centralize agencies' conference and meeting spending in unified databases, ensure competitive pricing for conference-related purchases, minimize the risk of cancellation fees from hotels and food vendors and archive important information to pass along to GSA and government watchdogs, the request for information said.

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Agencies Justify Conference Tabs Above $100,000

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Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive

 

Agencies have submitted summaries of conference spending in fiscal 2012 to the Office of Management and Budget that include justifications for training events that exceeded $100,000. The reports are required by a May 2012 memo from Acting Budget Director Jeffrey Zients.

Expanding on a 2011 OMB directive and executive order from President Obama promoting efficient spending, the latest Zients memo requires reductions in travel and conferences in the wake of the spring 2012 scandal involving extravagant spending at a General Services Administration training conference. It prohibits conferences costing more than $500,000 and requires agencies to report on events costing more than $100,000. Reports from all agencies were due Jan. 31.

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