# Presentation: 886700

## DOE Travel Workshop

- Griselda Lopez

## Travel Workshop

- Purpose – Discuss changes in travel processes and to exchange information
- Attendees – DOE and Contractor travel administrative staff
- FNAL
- Mala Sheshadri, New Travel Manager
- Griselda Lopez, CD Administrative Staff Leader
- Eileen Santarelli, CD Administrative Assistant

## SC’s Conference Management

- Federal government’s conference spending has increased almost 70% in the past 5 years = new DOE conference rules (90 days)
- Conference Management System (CMS)
- All non-DOE conferences must be entered
- Still don’t know who inputs this information for FNAL
- CD enters all travel meetings and conferences in a database (Matt’s talk)

## Foreign Travel long standing problems

- 45 days in advance rule
- Trips are often late because traveler doesn’t know about a meeting or conference
- Not all travel details known e.g. hotel
- BUT all information needed in DOE Foreign Travel Management System (FTMS) prior to submitting to lab foreign travel administrator (FTA)
- Lab approval process takes too long
- Can not submit for Directorate approval until FTA approves the form.  Criteria for form approval not written down and change frequently.
- No one else at workshop seemed to have a problem with their approval process
- Traveler approval from DOE is therefore received only at the last minute
- Even if it’s not a sensitive country
- Julie Squires at DOE said not to wait until the last minute to call her for approvals on sensitive countries

## Foreign Travelnew problems/ conference rules

- 110 day rule on conferences
- Even harder to enter all travel details
- All information needed in FTMS prior to submitting to lab foreign travel administrator (FTA)
- Conference attendance approval request form (CAAR) is needed
- Learned that N/A was not acceptable in FTMS
- Entries in FTMS self destruct in 60 Days
- Conference Issues
- FTMS is not a good database to share information
- The lab is creating a database for conferences, but it will not include foreign travel
- Learned that there is a DOE CMS database
- Other labs are having problems tracking and responding to the new travel rules
- New country clearance cable requirements
- Handled by site?
- What is the impact??

## Passport/Visas

- DOE Federal is able to use US State Department for all passport and visa requests
- Administrative staff or traveler handles their own visa or passport at FNAL
- Issue: Time spent
- Should we have a centralized office at FNAL?
- Requirements are changing
- Travel.state.gov or _[www.dhs.gov](http://www.dhs.gov/)_

## Counterintelligence

- DOE/Contractors should be briefed
- Issue: How do we brief our employees
- FNAL – once a year/memos from site office
- Should admin staff/traveler know more about this?
- CI Contractor calling several of our travelers
- Reporting an incident
- Supervisor/Division Head/Bruce Chrisman

## General Service Administration (GSA)

- Contractors are not covered under Federal Travel Regulations
- Issue: Hotel Rates and Justifications for overage
- Write many justifications a year
- GSA has travel board meetings twice a year
- Approachable and want feedback
- Issue: Coordinated feedback from lab?