DoD Directives
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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE |
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1950 DEFENSE PENTAGON |
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Administration |
March 3, 1994
ADMINISTRATIVE INSTRUCTION NO. 87
SUBJECT: Government Travel Card Program
References: (a) Administrative Instruction No. 87, subject as above, July 18, 1989 (hereby canceled)
(b) General Services Administration Contracts, currently Contract Number GS-OOF-34130, November 30, 1993 (issued for 1 year with option to extend for 4 more years, 1 year at a time)
(c) Joint Travel Regulations (current edition)
(d) DoD 7110.3-M, "Budget and Fiscal Coding Manual of the Office of the Secretary of Defense," July 1988
(e) Public Law 89-554, "Privacy Act of 1974," September 6, 1966, as amended
1. REISSUANCE AND PURPOSE
This Instruction reissues reference (a) to update policy, responsibilities, and procedures on the Government Travel Card Program. These changes are related to the change in Contractor, as indicated by reference (b).
2. APPLICABILITY AND SCOPE
This Instruction applies to:
2.1. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG, DoD), the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO), the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), and Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).
2.2. Other organizations that receive travel support from the Travel Division, Directorate for Budget and Finance (B&F), Washington Headquarters Services (WHS).
3. POLICY
It is DoD policy that:
3.1. Individuals traveling for those offices listed in section 2., above, shall make maximum use of a Government-sponsored travel CARD (hereafter referred to as the "CARD"). The CARD will provide financial flexibility and convenience to the traveler.
3.2. Individuals are encouraged to apply for a CARD. Individuals who travel only once per year and do not apply for a CARD shall not be authorized a cash advance or travelers checks. If the time constraint is such that it is impractical or impossible to secure a CARD for this individual, a cash advance will be authorized only after the application has been received. Individuals who travel two or more times a year and do not apply for a CARD shall not be authorized a cash advance or travelers checks. (See paragraph 3.8., below.)
3.3. The primary source of funds to support individual temporary duty (TDY) will be the automatic teller machine network (ATM). Each traveler is furnished a personal identification number when the CARD is issued. Most ATMs will issue $500 per day and $1,000 per rolling week. These amounts will usually accommodate the requirements. ATMs are available in over 45,000 locations around the world. If it is determined that these amounts are insufficient, please advise the Program Coordinator. Individuals using the ATM system are cautioned that overdrawing the authorized advance (see paragraph 3.10., below) will result in he or she being responsible for the fee applicable to the overdraw.
3.4. Travelers checks, to supplement ATM amounts, will be issued by the travel office instead of cash advances, except as noted in subparagraph 3.10.1., below.
3.5. To minimize interest expense, travel offices shall not procure and release transportation tickets to individuals earlier than 3 workdays before TDY, except when warranted by mission requirements. As a service to the traveler, the travel office shall not issue the travelers checks earlier than 3 workdays before the TDY, except when warranted by mission requirements. This delays the billing to the traveler as much as possible for the checks issued.
3.6. Individuals are responsible for maintaining their account in a current status. The cancellation of a CARD, voluntarily or because of neglect by an individual, does not justify cash advances.
3.7. DD Form 1610, "Request and Authorization for TDY Travel of DoD Personnel," for individuals who refuse the CARD, who currently have a valid CARD, or whose CARD has been canceled shall be marked clearly "NONE" in Block 15 and "NO CASH ADVANCE AUTHORIZED" in Block 16.
3.8. Cash advances shall be issued only under the following circumstances:
3.8.1. To individuals for whom, because of time constraint, it is impractical or impossible to secure a CARD for the applicable TDY. (With special arrangements, American Express (AMEX) can provide a CARD within 48 hours. This is accomplished through the Program Coordinator.) The cash advance is limited to 30 days.
3.8.2. To individuals performing permanent change of station (PCS), see subparagraph 5.2.3., below.
3.9. Personnel on long-term TDY assignments will be authorized ATM withdrawals or travelers checks for estimated out-of-pocket expenses (including long-term rental agreements), for no more than a 45-day period, provided:
3.9.1. The period of TDY is anticipated to exceed 60 days.
3.9.2. Travel vouchers are filed at least every 30 days. (See subparagraph 5.4.2., below, for pre-positioned vouchers to support this requirement.)
3.9.3. The CARD cannot be used. The contractor marketing staff is anxious to know when the CARD cannot be used at establishments frequently used by DoD personnel.
3.10. Personnel with valid CARDS shall receive ATM withdrawals or travelers checks instead of cash advances. The maximum value to be issued is limited to 30 days authorization (except as in paragraph 3.9., above). The circumstances used to determine the value authorized are as follows:
3.10.1. Travel to an area that does not accept the CARD. Since the CARD is universally accepted, it will be a rarity when this provision becomes applicable. The value of travelers checks issued is limited to no more than 80 percent of anticipated per diem and meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) as shown in the Joint Travel Regulations (reference (c)) and shall not exceed 30 days.
3.10.2. One hundred percent of registration fees.
3.10.3. When traveling TDY for periods of less than 60 days:
3.10.3.1. The daily value of M&IE as shown in the Joint Travel Regulations (reference (c)) when traveling TDY in the continental United States not to exceed 30 days.
3.10.3.2. Fifty percent of the per diem rate (including M&IE) for the localities visited when traveling TDY overseas, not to exceed 30 days.
4. RESPONSIBILITIES
4.1. The Director of Administration and Management, Office of the Secretary of Defense, through the Director of B&F, WHS, shall administer this program and appoint the Program Coordinator.
4.2. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Director, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization; the Inspector General for Administration and Information Management; the Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency; the Director, Department of Defense Education Activity; and the Director, Budget and Finance; shall comply with this Instruction.
5. PROCEDURES
5.1. Government-Sponsored Travel Card
5.1.1.1. The CARD shall be used by the traveler to defray costs, other than the cost of airline tickets (see subparagraph 5.2.4., below) in TDY status in accordance with General Services Administration Contracts (reference (b)).
5.1.1.2. The CARD expires every 2 years. A new CARD shall be reissued automatically by the company when the account is in good standing and the company has not been advised that the individual is no longer entitled to the privileges. (When an individual retires or terminates his or her employment with the Government, the administrative offices must notify the WHS Travel Division so that the card can be canceled. See subparagraph 5.1.4., below.)
5.1.2.1. Individuals entitled to the CARD may apply within their own organization. Each administrative officer shall maintain application forms. When an applicant signs the application form, he or she certifies that the CARD shall be used while in an official Government travel status. "The Bill to:" home or office block is to be checked in the home block. It is improper to address personal mail to an individual's Government office address. The applicant must also sign the reverse side of the application in the Privacy Act Notice Section.
5.1.2.2. After all blocks of the "Employee" section has been completed, the applicant shall forward the application form to the administrative officer for processing.
5.1.2.3. The administrative officer shall review the applicant's information for accuracy and enter the cost center code. The cost center is a code of 6 characters. The first two are as shown in enclosure 1. The following characters are the ORC code as shown in chapter 13 of DoD 7110.3-M (reference (d)). The FIPS Code is 9700.
5.1.2.4. The administrative officer shall initial the application form in the top right corner. If the administrative office wishes to keep a file of the applications, it must make copies. The original is then forwarded to the Directorate for Budget and Finance, WHS, Attn: Program Coordinator.
5.1.3. The Program Coordinatorshall:
5.1.3.1. Verify that all data is complete as required in subparagraph 5.1.2., above.
5.1.3.2. Sign and date the application.
5.1.3.3. Prepare a transmittal letter and forward the applications to AMEX. The copies for the company shall be forwarded at least weekly.
5.1.4. Terminations. When an individual is retiring or terminating employment with the Federal Government, the contractor must be notified that he or she is no longer entitled to the CARD privileges. When the individual clears B&F, it will be determined that the individual has a CARD and, if appropriate, the CARD will be confiscated. The CARD shall be destroyed in the presence of the individual. Written notice to the company of this cancellation shall be provided by the Program Coordinator. (See subparagraph 5.l.1.2., above.) The notice of cancellations will be forwarded to the company at least weekly.
5.1.5. Transfers-Out. Individuals who transfer to another Government Agency, or to another DoD Component, are not required to cancel the CARD. The travel office shall instruct the individual to keep the CARD and, when reporting to the new duty station, to advise the in-processing personnel that the CARD exists. This procedure requires that the gaining organization transfer the CARD activity to the applicable basic control number.
5.1.6. Transfers-In. Individuals transferring in to those organizations shown in section 2., above, shall have their accounts transferred to the appropriate basic control number. The individual will report to the travel office coordinator who will complete the appropriate form for this purpose. The completed form is to be mailed to the contractor within 1 week.
5.2. Use of the CARD
5.2.1. The CARD is intended to be used by an individual to defray expenses, other than the cost of airline tickets, incurred while in TDY status. TDY expenses may include social items related to meals or lodging that are not reimbursable.
5.2.2. The CARD shall be used to secure funds for TDY from an ATM or to purchase travelers checks instead of receiving cash advances. Travelers checks shall be issued in an amount not to exceed 30 days estimated per diem or 45 days as authorized in paragraph 3.9., above, for periods of TDY in excess of 60 days.
5.2.3. The CARD is not intended for the use of an individual to defray expenses incurred during a PCS move. If an individual elects to use the CARD for this purpose, failure to receive reimbursement for expenses incurred does not warrant delaying payment to the company.
5.2.4. The CARD shall not be used to purchase airline tickets, except under emergency conditions, such as reporting to a location to protect Government property that suddenly had become endangered. Routine or even infrequent purchase of airline tickets by individuals using the CARD instead of using the travel office services is not considered emergency conditions.
5.3. Payment of Individual Accounts
5.3.1. In compliance with the General Services Administration Contracts (reference (b)), the individual is expected to pay his or her statement balances within 25 days of the date of the monthly statement. This translates to 45 to 75 days after the expense has been incurred, depending on the time of incurrence.
5.3.2. If the account remains unpaid for an additional 60 days, the company may suspend CARD privileges. The company may reinstate CARD privileges upon payment of the amount due.
5.3.3. Once the account is 120 days old, the CARD may be canceled by the company. The cancellation of the CARD eliminates future advances. (See paragraph 3.6., above.) Individuals must apply, through the Government Program Coordinator, to the company to request reinstatement of the CARD. This is to be accomplished via a written request.
5.3.4. When an individual questions or contests a charge on the monthly statement, it is his or her responsibility to contact the company. A toll-free telephone number is shown on the monthly statement that may be used for this purpose. When an individual ignores the discrepancies on a statement, his or her credit standing may be affected.
5.4. Reimbursement Procedures
5.4.1. DD Form 1351-2, "Travel Voucher or Sub-voucher," shall be submitted, within 10 working days after the end of each trip, through the respective travel or accounting offices, as appropriate, for a cursory review and delivery to the paying accounting and finance office. The travel or accounting office will use the fastest means available to deliver the voucher to the paying finance office.
5.4.2. When TDY exceeds 60 days at other than a military installation, the traveler shall pre-position 30-day reimbursement vouchers with the travel office. The travel office shall deliver a voucher to the paying accounting and finance officer so that a check may be issued and mailed to the furnished address, to include checking accounts. (The voucher will be for 30 days of per diem at the location of the TDY.) Failure to follow these procedures shall not be a justification for delaying payment to the company. (See paragraphs 3.6. and 5.3., above.)
5.4.3. TDY exceeding 60 days at a military installation shall be financed by filing interim travel vouchers at that installation.
6. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Instruction is effective immediately.
Enclosures - 2
E1. Alphabetical Cost Code Listing
E2. Reports
E1. ENCLOSURE 1
ALPHABETICAL COST CODE LISTING
E2. ENCLOSURE 2
REPORTS
E2.1.1. The Company prepares various reports that may be used for information purposes. Since the CARDS are issued for official Government use, the data in the reports, when used in the performance of one's duties, do not violate the Privacy Act of 1974 (reference (e)). The reports are available on written request to the Director, B&F, WHS, Room 3B287, The Pentagon.
E2.1.2. The reports are as follows:
E2.1.2.1. Corporate Aging and Status Analysis, Government Card System. This report lists all individuals with outstanding balances that are outstanding 30 or more days.
E2.1.2.2. Roster. This is a listing of' all persons who have had or do have a CARD. It also shows the status of the account; i.e., active, canceled, etc.
E2.1.2.3. Vendor Analysis Report, Government Card System. This report is a listing of charges made by the CARD holders for the past month. The charges are by vendor type by location.
E2.1.2.4. Travel Advance and Charge Summary Report, Government Card System. This report lists monthly and quarterly by individual the number and amount of charges made by the individual for the period.