Summary: The nature and extent of federal travel, the reasons for the travel, and the executive branch travel policies, practices, and procedures were reviewed. A detailed review of travel was conducted at the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and some organizations within the Department of State.
The federal government spends about $2 billion each year for travel in the management and operation of federal programs. Executive program managers have the primary responsibility for assuring the most effective use of their program budgets, including the nature and extent of travel. The role of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in controlling travel has been limited to developing budgetary related questions on travel to assist agencies in conducting their own operations reviews, conducting a review of specific agency travel cases due to congressional concern, and examining amounts for travel in agency appropriation requests and apportioning funds within appropriated amounts.
