DOD Has Implemented 6 of 14 GAO Recommendations

Our January 2006 and September 2006 reports contained 14  recommendations for improving DOD’s management oversight and  implementation of DTS and related travel policies. The 6 closed recommendations pertain to unused airline tickets, use of  restricted airfare, proper testing of system interfaces, and streamlining of  certain travel processes, such as approving travel vouchers. Requirements management processes. For example, we found that not all GSA city-pair flights were  included in the display of flights provided to the traveler. The department has yet to  establish a process to identify the universe of DTS-eligible transactions,  which is needed to effectively measure DTS usage. DOD Has Implemented the 22 Recommendations Made in the 1995 Travel Reengineering Report

The 1995 DOD Travel Reengineering Report included 22 recommendations  for reengineering DOD’s TDY travel rules and processes and automating  these processes by implementing an integrated DOD travel system. In addition,  DTMO is modifying CTO contract language, as CTO contracts become  subject to renegotiation and renewal, to standardize the level of services  CTOs provide DOD travelers. DOD Entities Use DTS and Legacy Systems to Process Travel Vouchers

According to DOD officials, except for locations where DTS has not yet  been deployed, such as the Army Corps of Engineers and some locations  within the military services, DTS is used by the military services and all    44 defense agencies and joint commands to process TDY travel vouchers. The department uses two legacy systems to process (1) TDY travel  vouchers at locations where DTS is not yet deployed and (2) civilian and  military permanent duty travel vouchers since DTS currently lacks the  functionality to process these vouchers (see table 1). According to DOD  officials, the department should complete its efforts to add military  permanent duty travel functionality to DTS in fiscal year 2010. A decision  on whether civilian permanent duty travel will be added to DTS has not yet  been made. In response to our request for operating costs associated with  these systems, DOD officials provided us with fiscal year 2008 expenditure  data for one system and budget data for the other system. According to DOD officials, these legacy systems will not be eliminated  because they provide the capability to process civilian permanent duty  travel vouchers. It is about 15 times less expensive  to process a travel voucher electronically versus manually. DOD officials acknowledged that the department continues to lack the  data needed to ascertain the complete universe of travel vouchers that  should be processed through DTS. Regarding the remaining six open recommendations relating to premium- class travel, DTS utilization, simplification of flight displays, and  developing an approach that will permit the use of automated methods to  reduce the need for hard-copy receipts to substantiate travel expenses,  DOD stated that it believed it had taken sufficient action to address these  recommendations. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the status of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to  address our 14 recommendations and those made in the 1995 Task Force  Report to streamline the department’s travel rules and processes, we  obtained and analyzed relevant documentation, such as travel policies and  procedures, documents related to the Defense Travel System (DTS)  requirements management and system testing, and monthly premium-class  travel reports to assess the actions taken, under way, or planned by the  department to address these recommendations. To determine if DOD has identified its legacy systems, their operating  costs, and which legacy travel systems will be eliminated as well as the  time frame for elimination, we reviewed and compared information  provided by DTMO and the military services’ regarding the legacy systems  used to manage their travel operations, associated costs, and the rationale  for continued use of these systems. 2. DOD action taken to address the recommendation  4. 2. 3. 2. 8.
Why GAO Did This Study

In 1995, the Department of Defense (DOD) began an effort to implement a standard departmentwide travel system--the Defense Travel System (DTS). GAO has made numerous recommendations aimed at improving DOD management, oversight, and implementation of DTS. GAO was asked to (1) assess the actions DOD has taken to implement GAO's prior recommendations; (2) determine the actions DOD has taken to standardize and streamline its travel rules and processes; (3) determine if DOD has identified its legacy travel systems, their operating costs, and which of these systems will be eliminated; and (4) report on DOD's costs to process travel vouchers manually and electronically. To address these objectives, GAO (1) obtained and analyzed relevant travel policies and procedures, and documents related to the operation of DTS and (2) interviewed appropriate DOD and contractor personnel.

What GAO Found

While the department has made progress in improving the efficiency of its travel operations by implementing DTS and revising its processes and policies, unresolved operational issues continue to exist. DOD has taken sufficient action to satisfactorily address 6 of the 14 recommendations GAO made in 2006 pertaining to unused airline tickets, restricted airfares, testing of system interfaces, and streamlining of certain travel processes. More effort is needed to address the remaining 8 related to requirements management and system testing, utilization, premium-class travel, and developing an automated approach to reduce the need for hard-copy receipts to substantiate travel expenses. For example, in the area of requirements management and testing, GAO's analysis found that the display of flight information by DTS is complicated and confusing. This problem continues because DOD has yet to establish DTS flight display requirements that minimize the number of screens DOD travelers must view in selecting a flight. The 1995 DOD Travel Reengineering Report made 22 recommendations to streamline DOD's travel rules and processes. GAO found that DOD had satisfactorily addressed all 22 recommendations. For example, DOD has mandated the use of commercial travel offices (CTO), established a single entity within DOD--the Defense Travel Management Office--to contract with CTOs for travel services, and has begun modifying CTO contracts as they become subject to renewal to standardize the level of services provided. According to DOD officials, except for locations where DTS has not yet been deployed, DTS is used by the military services and all 44 defense agencies and joint commands to process temporary duty (TDY) travel vouchers. The department uses two legacy systems to process (1) TDY travel vouchers at locations where DTS is not yet deployed and (2) civilian and military permanent duty travel vouchers since DTS currently lacks the functionality to process these vouchers. DOD provided us with fiscal year 2008 expenditure data for one system and budget data for the other system. The expenditure/budget data provided by DOD were comparable to the amounts budgeted for these systems for fiscal year 2008. According to DOD officials, these legacy systems will not be eliminated because they provide the capability to process military and civilian permanent duty travel vouchers. Although DTS is expected to provide the capability to process military permanent duty travel vouchers in fiscal year 2010, DOD has not yet decided if civilian permanent duty travel voucher processing will be added to DTS. DOD cost data indicate that it is about 15 times more expensive to process a travel voucher manually--$36.52 manually versus $2.47 electronically. DOD officials acknowledged that the department continues to lack the data needed to ascertain the complete universe of travel vouchers that should be processed through DTS.