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Eben Peck Vice President, Government Affairs American Society of Travel Agents

Eben Peck Vice President, Government Affairs American 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

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Eben Peck Vice President, Government Affairs American Society of Travel Agents

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  1. Eben Peck Vice President, Government Affairs American Society of Travel Agents

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. Outlook – Where Do We Go From Here?

  8. 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”

  9. Q&As

  10. Thank You! epeck@asta.org (703) 739-6842

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