[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 108 (Monday, July 30, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H4807-H4808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROVIDING FOR RETENTION OF TRAVEL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS FOR FEDERAL 
                               EMPLOYEES

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2456) to provide that Federal employees may retain for 
personal use promotional items received as a result of travel taken in 
the course of employment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2456

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. RETENTION OF TRAVEL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS.

       (a) In General.--Section 5702 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d);
       (2) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), 
     by striking ``This section does'' and inserting ``Subsections 
     (a) and (b) do''; and
       (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(c) Promotional items (including frequent flyer miles, 
     upgrades, and access to carrier clubs or facilities) an 
     employee receives as a result of using travel or 
     transportation services procured by the United States or 
     accepted pursuant to section 1353 of title 31 may be retained 
     by the employee for personal use if such promotional items 
     are obtained under the same terms as those offered to the 
     general public and at no additional cost to the 
     Government.''.
       (b) Repeal of Superceded Law.--Section 6008 of the Federal 
     Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-355; 5 
     U.S.C. 5702 note) is repealed.
       (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this Act shall 
     apply with respect to promotional items received before, on, 
     or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Mrs. Morella) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H.R. 2456, the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, lately we have been hearing many reports about the human 
capital crisis affecting our civil service. Many of our best Federal 
employees are leaving for the private sector, with better pay and 
better benefits that are available to them. In addition, many talented 
individuals are choosing jobs in the private sector over public sector 
work for the same reasons.
  While it is difficult for the Federal Government to match salaries 
with the private sector, it can at least demonstrate to current and 
prospective Federal employees that it values their service and is 
willing to reward them with certain benefits; and for this reason I 
hope the House will pass today H.R. 2456.
  This important legislation that I am proud to cosponsor allows 
Federal civilian employees to keep frequent flyer miles and other 
promotional benefits that they receive while traveling on official 
government business. Unlike private sector employees, current law 
prohibits Federal employees from keeping

[[Page H4808]]

these benefits for personal use. In order for Federal employees to keep 
these frequent flyer benefits, the bill requires that they be obtained 
under the same terms as provided to the general public and must be at 
no additional cost to the government.
  Many employees' work travel can interfere with their personal lives. 
This legislation is a great way to thank them for their service. In a 
recent GAO report that looked into the efficacy of allowing Federal 
employees to keep their frequent flyer miles, the GAO, that is the 
General Accounting Office, concluded that ``changing the frequent flyer 
policy, and changing it retroactively, so that employees can take 
advantage of the unused miles, would boost Federal employees' morale 
and strengthen the Federal Government's ability to compete with the 
private sector. We, therefore, believe Congress should consider 
allowing Federal employees to keep and make personal use of the 
frequent flyer miles.''
  I could not agree more. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. 
Morella) for her leadership on this issue. I think it is very important 
that we level the playing field between the way Federal Government 
employees are treated and employees in the private sector are treated 
with regard to frequent flyer miles and other such benefits.
  As we all know, we are having a more difficult time than ever 
attracting quality individuals into the Federal workforce, and we know 
that there are many very hard working Federal employees who deserve to 
be treated in the public sector the same as they would be treated if 
they were in the private sector. So this bill today is, I think, a 
significant step toward improving the morale of our government 
employees and allowing them to know that the Federal Government, as an 
employer, will treat them in a similar manner to those employees in the 
private sector.
  I know that the gentlewoman from Maryland has taken a very strong 
interest in this bill. She has many Federal employees within her 
district, and I know that she has studied this issue very carefully. It 
is very true, I think, that the use of these frequent flyer miles by 
our Federal agencies is sporadic at best. Many times they go unused. It 
seems to be certainly an appropriate benefit of employment to allow our 
Federal employees, many of whom get up early in the morning to make a 
flight to take care of Federal business, sometimes getting home late at 
night after a workday in some far off place. Those who make those 
sacrifices, who are away from their families, it seems to me it is 
entirely appropriate they receive some benefit for those extra hours 
that many of them spend on an airplane beyond the usual 8 hours and 40 
hours that they work in a day or a week.
  So I again commend the gentlewoman from Maryland for her leadership 
on this issue and certainly urge all the Members of the House to join 
in supporting H.R. 2456.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume 
to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) for his steadfast and 
committed work in the Committee on Government Reform, and thank him for 
the statement he made in support of this bill, which I think will be 
very helpful.
  Mr. Speaker, as has been mentioned, very often when Federal employees 
are traveling, they are sacrificing the valuable time that they would 
spend with their family. By allowing them at least to use these 
frequent flyer miles when they are on government service, they could 
perhaps take their family, cumulatively with these miles, on a trip.
  As I had mentioned earlier, the legislation has the support of the 
General Accounting Office, it has the support of the administration. I 
hope that we can put this legislation on President Bush's desk this 
year and show our Federal employees that we value their service.
  I want to thank the Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, 
the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), and the ranking member, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), for bringing this legislation 
to the floor, and all of the cosponsors.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2456 would allow Federal 
employees to keep frequent flyer miles they earn from official travel. 
This bill was approved unanimously by the Government Reform Committee 
last week. It will help Federal agencies compete with the private 
sector for hard-to-retain employees.
  In 1994, we passed a law that said that Federal employees can't keep 
frequent flyer miles. The idea was to save money. We wanted Federal 
agencies to use these miles for official business. Unfortunately, it 
didn't work. Frequent flyer miles are going to waste at agencies across 
the government.
  The problem is that, according to the airlines, frequent flyer miles 
can only be awarded to individuals. The airlines won't set up separate 
business accounts and personal accounts. So in most cases, the frequent 
flyer miles are being wasted. They're not being used by Federal 
agencies, and in most cases, they're not being used by Federal workers. 
This situation isn't benefiting anyone.
  In the private sector, businesses let their employees keep frequent 
flyer miles. It's good employee relations. Business travel can be 
draining. Employees often have to travel on their own time. Letting 
employees keep their frequent flyer miles compensates them for lost 
time they could be spending with their families. It also helps 
companies hold on to their good employees. That's the approach the 
Federal government ought to take.
  In a review done for the Committee, the General Accounting Office 
expressed their strong support for this legislation. According to the 
GAO, passage of this bill would boost employee morale and help the 
government attract and retain top-quality employees. The Bush 
Administration has also fully endorsed this legislation.
  I would like to thank Congresswoman Connie Morella, an original 
cosponsor of the bill, for her hard work on this important legislation. 
I urge my colleagues to support it.
                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                    Washington, DC, July 27, 2001.
     Hon. Dan Burton,
     Chairman, Committee on Government Reform, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2456, a bill to 
     provide that federal employees may retain for personal use 
     promotional items received as a result of travel taken in the 
     course of employment.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
     Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Barry B. Anderson
                                   (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
       Enclosure.
                                  ____


               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

     H.R. 2456--A bill to provide that federal employees may 
         retain for personal use promotional items received as a 
         result of travel taken in the course of employment; As 
         ordered reported by the House Committee on Government 
         Reform on July 25, 2001.
       H.R. 2456 would allow most civilian federal employees to 
     use frequent flyer miles and other travel benefits that they 
     earn through official travel for their own personal travel. 
     Current law permits most federal employees to utilize such 
     frequent travel programs only for official business. Because 
     airlines award such benefits to the individual traveler 
     rather than to the government however, the benefits of 
     frequent travel programs are rarely applied to official trips 
     and have little effect on federal travel costs, according to 
     a recent report by the General Accounting Office. Thus, CBO 
     estimates that implementing H.R. 2456 would have no 
     significant impact on the federal budget.
       H.R. 2456 would not affect direct spending or receipts, so 
     pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill contains 
     no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 
     the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the 
     budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
       The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz, 
     who can be reached at 226-2860. This estimate was approved by 
     Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
     Analysis.

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time, I urge 
adoption of this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2456.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.




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