6509.33_301-50
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FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS (WO)
WASHINGTON, DC
FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
CHAPTER 301 - TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SUBCHAPTER C - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES, PAYING TRAVEL
EXPENSES, AND CLAIMING REIMBURSEMENT
PART 301-50 - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES
Supplement No.: 6509.33-2007-1
Effective Date: January 18, 2007
Duration: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
Approved: JESSE L. KING
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Date Approved: 01/08/2007
Posting Instructions: Supplements are numbered consecutively by handbook number and
calendar year. Post by document; remove the entire document and replace it with this
supplement. Retain this transmittal as the first page(s) of this document. The last supplement to
this Handbook was 6509.33-2006-6 to chapter 301.
New Document
6509.33_301-50
Superseded Document(s) by
Issuance Number and
Effective Date
None
7 Pages
Digest:
301-50.3 - Incorporates direction previously issued in a letter signed by Mary S. Matiella, dated
May 13, 2002, 6540/6100 on agency policy regarding Travel Gainsharing Program.
WO SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-2007-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 01/18/2007
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
6509.33_301-50
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FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
CHAPTER 301 - TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SUBCHAPTER C - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES, PAYING TRAVEL EXPENSES, AND
CLAIMING REIMBURSEMENT
PART 301-50 - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES
STANDARD POSTING INSTRUCTIONS
FOR THE FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION, FSH 6509.33
(For further direction on organization and posting of parent text (white pages) see the Foreword
to the Federal Travel Regulation beginning on page i.)
ORGANIZATION. The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) is divided into chapters, parts,
subparts (if applicable), sections, and paragraphs. The numbers 301, 302, 303, and 304 connote
specific chapters of Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The number before the
decimal point indicates the part within each chapter; the number after the decimal point indicates
the section. For example 301-1.1 refers to:
Chapter
301-
Part
1.
Section
1
Pages within each part are consecutively numbered beginning with Arabic number 1. Each page
number is preceded by the part number; for example, the third page of Part 301-2 is numbered
2-3. Individual pages are identified by chapter in the running header.
TRANSMITTALS. Transmittals accompany parent text, Department supplements, and Forest
Service supplements. File transmittals at the front of the Handbook in numerical sequence with
the highest amendment or supplement number first. Group the transmittals in the following
order by issuing Agency and unit level:
- Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) (white transmittals);
- Agriculture Travel Regulations (ATR) supplements (yellow transmittals);
- Forest Service Travel Regulations (FSTR) supplements (buff transmittals);
- Region, Station, or Area Supplements (blue transmittals); and
- Forest Supplements (green transmittals).
SUPPLEMENTS AND INTERIM DIRECTIVES. Post supplements to the parent text of the
Federal Travel Regulation (white pages) at the end of each part (for example, at the end of part
301-1, 301-2, and so on) by color in the following order:
- Agriculture Travel Regulations (ATR) supplements (yellow pages);
- Forest Service Travel Regulations (FSTR) supplements (buff pages);
- Washington Office ID's (pink pages);
- Region, Station, or Area Supplements (blue pages);
- Region, Station, or Area ID's (pink pages);
- Forest Supplements (green pages); and
- Forest ID's (pink pages).
WO SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-2007-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 01/18/2007
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
6509.33_301-50
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FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
CHAPTER 301 - TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SUBCHAPTER C - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES, PAYING TRAVEL EXPENSES, AND
CLAIMING REIMBURSEMENT
PART 301-50 - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES
Table of Contents
301-50.3 Must I use the ETS or TMS to arrange my Travel? ................................................ 4
WO SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-2007-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 01/18/2007
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
6509.33_301-50
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FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
CHAPTER 301 - TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SUBCHAPTER C - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES, PAYING TRAVEL EXPENSES, AND
CLAIMING REIMBURSEMENT
PART 301-50 - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES
301-50.3 Must I use the ETS or TMS to arrange my Travel?
Yes, unless an exception is granted to the required use of the Travel Management
Service/ETravel Service (TMS/ETS) under FTR 301-50.4, 301-73.102, or 301-73.104.
This directive sets forth the Forest Service policy on its Travel Savings Shared Benefits Program,
also referred to as the Travel Gainsharing Program. The Government Employees Incentive
Awards Act, Title 5, United States Code, section 4501-4507 (5 U.S.C. 4501-4507), authorizes an
agency to pay a cash award for “efficiency” or “economy”. This program rewards employees
who save Forest Service money while on temporary duty (TDY) travel. These savings come
from the use of less expensive lodging or from use of Frequent Flyer benefits to purchase airline
tickets for official travel. Employee participation in the program is optional and applies only
to reservations for air and/or lodging made through the Travel Management Service.
Taxes are withheld (Federal, State, local, FICA) on the award amount. Awards are processed
once an employee accumulates a minimum of $200 in savings. However, if at the end of the
current fiscal year, the employee has not accumulated a minimum of $200 in savings, then and
only then the employee may submit the dollar amount that has been accumulated for the current
fiscal year for processing. Savings can be accumulated over multiple trips, but may not be
accumulated over multiple fiscal years.
1. Types of Travel Covered.
All TDY requiring lodging, foreign and domestic, is covered under this program. Only the first
30 days of extended TDY travel can be counted as eligible for savings in this program.
2. Lodging Savings.
Employees who participate in the program can receive cash awards for incurring lodging
expenses at a daily rate which is less than the maximum lodging rate for the locality under the
lodgings plus method. Transportation costs to the TDY site and return to the hotel must be
factored into computing the savings.
a. Awards must not be made to individual employees on travel where lodging
savings were the result of being prearranged, for example, lodging for a conference,
seminar, and so forth, where the sponsoring organization arranged for lodging or
prepaid by contract with the hotel. However, any savings resulting from shared
accommodations under such arrangements does qualify for the travel savings award.
WO SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-2007-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 01/18/2007
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
CHAPTER 301 - TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SUBCHAPTER C - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES, PAYING TRAVEL EXPENSES, AND
CLAIMING REIMBURSEMENT
PART 301-50 - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES
b. Lodging savings resulting from GSA sponsored FedRooms program must not be
counted as lodging savings in the travel savings program. This Program offers hotels
that have agreed to provide lodging at or below the per diem rate. The program and
affiliated hotels can be found on the internet at FEDROOMS.
c. Employees should not incur additional expenses in transportation or other
miscellaneous costs in an effort to reduce lodging expenses. Employees who incur
additional transportation expenses must have those expenses deducted from their
lodging savings. Examples of excess transportation cost include, but are not limited
to, renting a vehicle (when one would not normally be rented) at a TDY site to travel
to a place of free or reduced lodging; when driving a privately owned vehicle (POV),
driving more miles than would normally be traveled to/from the TDY site to obtain
free or reduced lodging; or where a taxi fare is incurred which would not normally
have been incurred to obtain free or reduced lodging.
d. The Government travel card must be used for payment of all hotel-lodging costs to
qualify as lodging savings under this program. The only exceptions to this are when
the hotel or other facility does not accept the travel card, or where an employee stays
with friends or relatives to avoid payment of any lodging costs or under the
requirements of Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) 301-51.2.
e. When a room is shared while on official travel there can be a lodging savings. The
employees should arrange to be billed separately. If this is not possible, a daily rate
must be determined for each employee. To determine amount eligible for the travel
savings program for each employee:
(1) Divide the actual lodging rate by the number of employees that shared the room.
This gives an actual daily rate for each employee.
(2) Divide the maximum lodging locality rate by the number of employees to get a
daily maximum rate for each employee.
(3) Subtract the actual daily rate from the daily maximum rate for each employee.
The results will be each employee's eligible savings toward the minimum savings of
$200.
WO SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-2007-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 01/18/2007
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
CHAPTER 301 - TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SUBCHAPTER C - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES, PAYING TRAVEL EXPENSES, AND
CLAIMING REIMBURSEMENT
PART 301-50 - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES
For example, two employees find a room for $80. The maximum locality rate is
$100. The actual daily rate for each employee is $40 ($80/2). The daily maximum
locality rate for each employee is $50 ($100/2). Subtract $40 from $50 to get savings
of $10 for each employee. However, each employee receives 50% of the total
savings, which is $5 (50% of $10) (see para. 5) to count toward the minimum savings
of $200. The savings are cumulative on a fiscal year basis.
f. All lodging must be at facilities which meet the requirements of the Hotel/Motel
Fire Safety Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-391). Lodging with friends or relatives exempts
the employee from this requirement. Hotels in compliance can be found on at USFA:
Hotel/Motel Fire-Safe List.
g. Lodging costs incurred on personal time (annual leave) during official travel must
not be counted as lodging savings under this program.
h. Employees who incur no costs for lodging while on official travel can receive
credit for one half of the lodging rate for the locality toward the minimum savings of
$200 to become eligible for a travel savings cash award.
3. Redemption of Frequent Flyer Benefits.
Employees who use a free ticket obtained through frequent flyer benefits earned on official or
personal travel are eligible for the travel savings award. Savings on transportation costs are
measured by the contract city pair rate in effect at the time of the flight. If no contract fare is
available, then the lowest available non-restricted coach fare must be used as a basis for
determining the savings.
4. Amount of Award.
The amount of the award for each employee is 50 percent of the combined savings on lodging
and contract carrier airfare expenses. Taxes are withheld (Federal, State, FICA) from the total
award amount. The minimum savings is $200 and the cash award that can be received is half of
the savings ($100).
5. Claiming the Reward.
Form FS 6500-4, Forest Service Travel Savings Form must be completed and submitted by each
employee for all trips, which show lodging savings or redemption of Frequent Flyer benefits.
Each trip must be submitted with the appropriate voucher to the appropriate approving official,
who in most cases is the employee’s immediate supervisor. The employee and the approving
official must initial each trip and sign each completed Travel Savings Form.
WO SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-2007-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 01/18/2007
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
6509.33_301-50
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FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
CHAPTER 301 - TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
SUBCHAPTER C - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES, PAYING TRAVEL EXPENSES, AND
CLAIMING REIMBURSEMENT
PART 301-50 - ARRANGING FOR TRAVEL SERVICES
Employees can apply for the award as soon as they meet the minimum eligibility requirement of
$200 in savings. All completed Travel Savings Forms with total cumulative savings of $200 or
more must be submitted to the approving official, who must then complete form AD-287-2,
Recommendation & Approval of Awards. Select Gainsharing Award as the type of recognition
recommended, in block 12 of the AD-287-2. The Approving Official in Block 22 has approval
authority up to $1,000. The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture approves incentive
awards for SES and for award amounts greater than $1,000.
The AD-287-2 shall be submitted to the Albuquerque Service Center (ASC), Human Capital
Management for employees at the GS-13 and below level and to the Washington Office (WO),
Human Capital Management for employees at the GS-14 and above level for processing.