Agencies Are Reminded There's Little Elbowroom on Air Travel

Tighter travel rules for federal employees appear to be in the works.

A memorandum by the Office of Management and Budget asks the heads of agencies to ensure that travel rules are being followed and says that the administration will revise them in light of recent findings by the Government Accountability Office, the congressional agency that audits and reviews federal programs.

Last year, the GAO found numerous examples of agencies that sidestepped or inconsistently applied federal travel rules. The GAO concluded that 67 percent of "premium" -- first-class and business-class -- travel was unauthorized, unjustified or both during the period studied. Such improper travel cost taxpayers millions of dollars, the GAO said in the report.

As an example, the GAO said, 140 of the 145 premium-class trips examined at the Agriculture Department did not have documentation to justify why the traveler needed an upgrade from coach. In 79 cases involving the department's foreign agricultural service, the trips were taken by executives and authorized by subordinates or employees not permitted to sign off on premium travel.

The GAO report prompted a number of agencies, including the Agriculture Department, to pay more attention to federal travel rules and to discourage premium-class travel.

Federal rules allow premium-class travel when individuals have a physician-certified physical disability, when such travel is needed for security purposes, when the mission is urgent and coach is not available, or when the destination is outside the United States and scheduled flight time is more than 14 hours with no rest stops along the route.

Clay Johnson III, deputy director for management at the OMB, said the memo, sent Jan. 8., was a reminder "to reinforce the importance of having clearly defined internal controls in place regarding when the use of premium class accommodations is appropriate."

Johnson asked agencies to clarify their travel policies, ensure that travel requests be approved by an official "at least at the same level as the traveler," require annual certifications of disabilities and to restrict premium-class travel when the employee is not reporting for duty the next day.

A New Commissioner

Judith R. Tillman has been named commissioner of the Financial Management Service at the Treasury Department, and David A. Lebryk has been selected as the deputy commissioner.

Tillman previously served as the agency's deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner of regional operations. She has worked at the Treasury Department for 34 years, splitting her career between the Financial Management Service and the Internal Revenue Service.

Lebryk was at the U.S. Mint, serving as deputy director. He was the mint's acting director from August 2005 to September 2006.

The Financial Management Service collects revenues, sends out Social Security, veterans benefits and tax refunds, and helps oversee government-wide accounting.