As part of its personnel reform, FAA delegated the authority to determine eligibility for and the amount of PCS benefits to each line of business and provided three PCS funding options: (1) full PCS reimbursement, (2) fixed relocation payments, and (3) unfunded moves. According to FAA, the average agencywide PCS cost for fully reimbursed PCS moves in fiscal year 2001 was about $54,000 (based on a sample of 100 fully funded PCS moves in that fiscal year.) Under its personnel reform, FAA may offer a fixed relocation payment if it determines that the agency will derive some benefit from a move, even though the move is not in the interest of the government. If a move is not in the interest of the government and FAA does not determine that it will derive some benefit from the move, there is no basis for offering PCS funding. Air Traffic Controllers Were Less Likely than Managers to Receive Funding for PCS Moves

Air traffic controllers were less likely than air traffic managers to receive funding for their moving expenses when moving between facilities. As shown in figure 2, 94 percent of controllers’ lateral moves (236 of 250) were unfunded, compared with 66 percent of managers’ lateral moves (27 of 41). Possible Impacts of FAA’s New PCS Policies

Although FAA officials said that PCS costs have decreased and FAA’s ability to quickly fill vacant controller positions has improved since the new PCS policies took effect, they did not have the data to determine to what extent the annual decreases or improvement in the agency’s ability to fill vacancies in field facilities are attributable to the new PCS policies implemented in 1998. Appendix I: Details on GAO’s Data Analyses

We obtained and analyzed data on trends in funding for permanent change of station (PCS) moves in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Air Traffic Services line of business (the FAA line of business for air traffic controllers and air traffic managers) since fiscal year 1996 and analyzed data on the type of funding (fully funded, fixed payments, or unfunded) and purpose (promotion, lateral transfer, or downgrade) of controllers’ and managers’ PCS moves between field offices from 1999 through 2001, the only years for which these data were available.
What GAO Found

In fiscal year 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spent more than $15 million to move air traffic controllers and their managers to new permanent duty locations. FAA classifies the funds that it spends for these moves as permanent change of station (PCS) benefits. In 1998, as part of a broader effort to reform its personnel policies, FAA changed its policies on PCS benefits. Instead of fully reimbursing the costs of all PCS moves and prohibiting unfunded PCS moves, as it once did, FAA now determines the amount of PCS benefits to be offered on a position-by-position basis and allows employees and managers to move at their own expense. Under its new polices, FAA can fully reimburse the costs of a move if it determines that he move is in the interest of the government, or it can offer partial fixed relocation benefits if it determines that the agency will derive some benefit from the move. FAA's policies on eligibility for PCS benefits are the same for air traffic controllers and their managers, but the amounts of the benefits vary. According to these policies, eligibility depends on a determining official's decision about how critical a position is and/or whether FAA will benefit from the move. Air traffic controllers have been less likely than air traffic managers to be offered PCS benefits when they move between facilities. Between fiscal year 1999 and 2001, Air Traffic Services funded 16 percent of moves involving a promotion and 6 percent of lateral moves between field facilities for controllers, compared with 38 percent of promotional moves and 34 percent of lateral moves for managers. According to FAA officials, PCS costs have decreased and FAA's ability to quickly fill vacant controller positions has improved since the new PCS policies took effect.