[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(b) Repeal of Superceded Law.--Section 6008 of the Federal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U.S.C. 5702 note) is repealed.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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