News
The Pentagon may merge its troubled Defense Travel System (DTS) with the electronic-travel system that is used by non-Defense agencies and departments, according to officials overseeing the department’s travel program.
Civilian agencies book their travel and manage their travel accounts using a program called eTravel, which is managed by the General Services Administration.
“It’s an open question to what extent DTS and eTravel should come together,” David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, said during a Feb. 9 speech.
But Chu said combining the systems would be difficult because of the complexity of DTS. Like eTravel, which is being deployed at civilian agencies, DTS offers online travel booking. Most of its software coding and costs, however, are devoted to managing the financial aspects of travel, such as arranging reimbursements for travel expenses and ensuring money is being disbursed from the proper accounts. DTS is also designed to automatically force employees to follow Defense Department travel regulations.
DTMO officials said merging DTS with eTravel is one of various options the department will consider after completion of an independent study that is intended to find the most cost-efficient way to run the system.
Congress, which has been critical of DTS costs, mandated the study in the fiscal 2007 Defense appropriations bill. The study is part of a compromise reached after Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sought to block funding for DTS.
The law also requires the Pentagon to develop fixed requirements for DTS and to avoid issuing a new contract for the system until a schedule is established to phase out legacy travel systems at Defense facilities. Northrop Grumman’s contract to maintain the system expires in April.
The Institute for Defense Analyses is conducting the study and is scheduled to submit its results to the House and Senate Armed Services committees in April.
The study will weigh whether the two portions of DTS can be separated, whether the department should mandate use of the financial portion of the system for all travel transactions and if the department should use multiple travel reservation processes. The study will also evaluate converting the travel reservation process to a fee-for-services system, instead of the current “cost-plus” arrangement.
“Contingent upon results, this will lead to examining all options,” DTMO officials said in an e-mail.
Congressional critics, however, are not waiting for study results to press for changes to the system.
Coburn, joined by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn. has continued to call for eliminating the travel booking portion of DTS. At a November hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs permanent subcommittee on investigations, Coleman pointed to a subcommittee study of about 126,000 Defense travelers that showed 83 percent of them booked their trips through travel agents instead of DTS. Calling the system a waste of money and a failure, he vowed to introduce legislation to eliminate the travel booking system.
Coburn believes DTS cannot compete with commercial systems and should be scrapped in favor of the fee-for-service model, spokesman Aaron Cooper said. “Senator Coburn expects the analysis ordered by the Defense Department will further show what we already know. And that is the never-ending DTS contract has proven to be a boondoggle perpetrated on the American taxpayer,” Cooper said.
Pentagon officials say that the number of DTS users is increasing. As of Oct. 31, the system was processing 7,600 travel authorizations a day and was in high volume use at 280 sites, according to department figures. And in his speech, Chu said DTS, particularly the financial portion, has been a success.
However, “I acknowledge that there are some serious concerns with the interface for the traveler,” he said.
Civilian agencies book their travel and manage their travel accounts using a program called eTravel, which is managed by the General Services Administration.
“It’s an open question to what extent DTS and eTravel should come together,” David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, said during a Feb. 9 speech.
But Chu said combining the systems would be difficult because of the complexity of DTS. Like eTravel, which is being deployed at civilian agencies, DTS offers online travel booking. Most of its software coding and costs, however, are devoted to managing the financial aspects of travel, such as arranging reimbursements for travel expenses and ensuring money is being disbursed from the proper accounts. DTS is also designed to automatically force employees to follow Defense Department travel regulations.
DTMO officials said merging DTS with eTravel is one of various options the department will consider after completion of an independent study that is intended to find the most cost-efficient way to run the system.
Congress, which has been critical of DTS costs, mandated the study in the fiscal 2007 Defense appropriations bill. The study is part of a compromise reached after Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sought to block funding for DTS.
The law also requires the Pentagon to develop fixed requirements for DTS and to avoid issuing a new contract for the system until a schedule is established to phase out legacy travel systems at Defense facilities. Northrop Grumman’s contract to maintain the system expires in April.
The Institute for Defense Analyses is conducting the study and is scheduled to submit its results to the House and Senate Armed Services committees in April.
The study will weigh whether the two portions of DTS can be separated, whether the department should mandate use of the financial portion of the system for all travel transactions and if the department should use multiple travel reservation processes. The study will also evaluate converting the travel reservation process to a fee-for-services system, instead of the current “cost-plus” arrangement.
“Contingent upon results, this will lead to examining all options,” DTMO officials said in an e-mail.
Congressional critics, however, are not waiting for study results to press for changes to the system.
Coburn, joined by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn. has continued to call for eliminating the travel booking portion of DTS. At a November hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs permanent subcommittee on investigations, Coleman pointed to a subcommittee study of about 126,000 Defense travelers that showed 83 percent of them booked their trips through travel agents instead of DTS. Calling the system a waste of money and a failure, he vowed to introduce legislation to eliminate the travel booking system.
Coburn believes DTS cannot compete with commercial systems and should be scrapped in favor of the fee-for-service model, spokesman Aaron Cooper said. “Senator Coburn expects the analysis ordered by the Defense Department will further show what we already know. And that is the never-ending DTS contract has proven to be a boondoggle perpetrated on the American taxpayer,” Cooper said.
Pentagon officials say that the number of DTS users is increasing. As of Oct. 31, the system was processing 7,600 travel authorizations a day and was in high volume use at 280 sites, according to department figures. And in his speech, Chu said DTS, particularly the financial portion, has been a success.
However, “I acknowledge that there are some serious concerns with the interface for the traveler,” he said.
