Reimbursed Travel: Commerce and FTC Generally Met Requirements but Some Improvements Needed
GGD-95-32
Published: Jan 26, 1995. Publicly Released: Jan 26, 1995.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Commerce's and the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) controls over the acceptance and reporting of nonfederally reimbursed travel by their employees, focusing on: (1) whether Commerce and FTC met their review and reporting requirements; and (2) the implications of Commerce denying the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) access to its records of reimbursed travel in 1992.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should take actions to ensure that all Commerce employees' travel requests containing all of the necessary information, such as the name of the payer and the amount and type of expenses to be paid, are reviewed and approved before a trip. |
Closed – Implemented
Commerce's Office of General Counsel issued a memorandum on January 17, 1995, to all chief administrative officers which stated that action should be taken immediately to inform their employees of the continuing responsibility to have travel gifts approved prior to acceptance. It also required an employee engaged in travel to contact his or her office for appropriate clearance.
|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should take actions to ensure that the Office of General Counsel, as part of its responsibilities for submitting semiannual reports to OGE, ensure these reports include the required information, including the dates and nature of events attended and expenses paid. |
Closed – Implemented
Commerce's Office of General Counsel developed a form which, if properly completed, will provide all the required information necessary for reporting to OGE. COmmerce's General Counsel also issued a memorandum on January 17, 1995, to all chief administrative officers requiring them to ensure that employees used the appropriate form and to take the necessary steps to ensure that the gift reporting form is properly completed before it is sent to the Office of General Counsel. The memorandum also said that the Office of General Counsel will continue to check the forms to identify ones which are incomplete.
|
| Department of Commerce | The Secretary of Commerce should take actions to ensure that Commerce offices require: (1) travel vouchers; and (2) receipts for reimbursed expenses, except for meals since they are not required by Federal Travel Regulations to be supported in this manner. |
Closed – Implemented
The Assistant General Counsel for Administration issued a memorandum to the heads of operating units and secretarial officers which requested the following steps be taken: (1) Employees must complete a travel voucher after a trip that involves a travel gift. This should be done even if the trip involved no expense to the governemnt; and (2) Employees should retain evidence of all gifts by obtaining receipts, unless the gift is a meal.
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| Federal Trade Commission | The Chairman, Federal Trade Commission, should require the Office of General Counsel to ensure that the agency's reports to OGE more completely describe the nature of the events attended. |
Closed – Implemented
FTC is including more complete descriptions of the nature of events attended by non-federally reimbursed travelers in its semiannual report to OGE.
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Topics
Air travel allowancesEthical conductFare discountsFederal employeesFederal records managementFunds managementInteragency relationsReporting requirementsTransportation expense claimsTravel costs