SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

Currently FED Traveler is the program used to book official travel for all official travel. Using this program we are forced to over pay for plane tickets and well basically all travel arrangments made using the program. 1st. Each travel itinerary cost the government $29.10. I have booked plenty of flights for my spouse to come to visit me while on detail and it was free using the airline website. 2nd. Stop buying the... more »

Eliminate all unneeded travel. Training should be attended locally or online when available. Meetings should be held at central locations, at a relevant site or via phone.

Recognize that POV travel is less expensive than GOV travel, and reimburse appropriately. A new AAA study shows the cost to own and operate a sedan rose nearly 2 cents a mile to 58.5 cents per mile. As a high-mileage driver the government had been reimbursing me (to use my POV for government business) 19 cents per mile, which is down from the 28.5 cents per mile that was reimbursed in prior years (while actual costs have... more »

I recently went to a training session at a cost of several thousand dollars per person, and the training was still in the development stages. I believe huge efficiencies and savings (both personal and monetarily) could have been realized if the quick reference guide, or DVD, or another method was simply sent to me with no personal travel involved. In this solitary case, millions of dollars could have been saved.

GSA has a list of "approved" vendors for services and maintenance for vehicles. A common example of inflated cost would be a local prime vendor charges, lets say, $150 for a new tire, balance, rotation, and installation on a GSA "owned" vehicle. If I have to replace that tire, I am limited to this (or similar vendors). The problem is, I can ge the same tire (EXACT SAME TIRE) at Walmart, Goodyear, Pep Boys, and several... more »

I have to go to a GSA vendor for vehicle maintenance. The problem is this (recent example):

Car is over heating...needs thermostat replacement ($20 part, plus $15 labor from local dealership, and free ten minute diagnostic)...HOWEVER! GSA vendor does the following: diagnostic check: $35, unknown results...replace water pump: $130 for pump, $35 thermostat replacment, $200 labor, shop fee, paperwork cost.

Seems wrong?... more »

Everyone uses these training conferences as a vacation to go to Las Vegas or Fla, etc. You don't learn anything there and spend $2,000 per person for training.We need to get rid of this and spend the money on legimate training or courses for our job.

The IRS requires approximately 65,000 employees who travel at least once per year to acquire and use a Citibank government credit card for official travel. Travel is funded through a centralized billing account (CBA) for employees with low credit scores or history of misuse.

I suggest doing away with this Citibank contract and allowing employees to use any credit card they want for travel. Many employees would prefer... more »

I have noticed over the years that there has been alot of military airlift missions from our Command. The travel is mostly going from Norfolk, VA to Washington, D.C. Which is roughly a 45 minute flight, as opposed to a 3 hour drive. That is great for time savings, but not financial savings.

I noticed some flight orders with the expenses listed for the air travel. Usually between $11K and $12K a flight, so round trip... more »

Every time a government employee has to travel on official duty we are forced to use SATO or some other agency designated travel service to purchase our mode of travel & lodging. I have in my possession a copy of a travel confirmation in which the airline ticket cost the taxpayers $1881.80. This ticket could have been purchased for approximately $1000.00 less online without going through SATO. When you add up all the... more »

The Department of Defense has spent millions of dollars setting Holloman AFB up to fly the F-22. In the next year or so they are moving to Tyndall AFB, where they will need a lot more maintenance due to the salt water humid environment. Temporarily moving in F-16 just to move them back out later if we get the F-35 when it comes on line. This is a total waste of money, and will cost even more money since Tyndall is... more »

In HQ, most 1811's commute daily using GOV's and because of their HQ assignment do not actively participate in Investigative or Protective assignments. There should be a certain pool or vehicles available for official use, however normal commuting hardly justifies driving to and from work every single day wasting gov funds for gas and upkeep of vehicles due to mileage limits. It seems possible to allow 1811's to continue... more »

Time and Time again, Federal Employees on official travel are charged more for flights, hotels, etc. than the average customer. There are several reason why this is the case...from the inability to use conventional travel sites(such as Kayak, expedia, etc) to the the fact that for some reason the fed just pays more. I think that there should be a government-wide system (preferably online/electronic) created for fed employees... more »

Allow government employees to make their own travel arrangements. I recently travel from Sioux Falls,SD to LA for PHIS training. The ticket purchase by the government travel agency cost the government approximately $1200.00. I could have purchased the same ticket on the same plane and the same time for approximately $325.00. Anytime FSIS employees are required to travel by air they are required to use the government... more »

In this age of the internet, satisfactory human interaction can be achieved through video teleconferencing if investment is made in technology toward this end. The Dept. of Energy is totally inadequate in this area, and I assume other agencies are as well. If people can see and hear each other WELL, a facsimile for human interaction can replace costly travel. Electronic deficiencies will lead to employees choosing... more »