United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to Congressional Requesters

June 1997 RELOCATION TRAVEL

Numbers and Costs

Reported by Federal

Organizations for

Fiscal Years 1991

Through 1995

GAO/GGD-97-119

GAO United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

General Government Division

B-274212 

June 30, 1997

The Honorable Ted Stevens

Chairman, Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate

The Honorable Fred Thompson

Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

This report responds to your request for governmentwide information on

the number of civilian employees relocated during fiscal years 1991

through 1995 and the associated costs of these relocations. Specifically,

you asked us to provide information on (1) the total number of civilian

employees who were relocated at the federal government’s expense,

(2) the total cost of these relocations to the government, and (3) the

agencies that had rotational policies requiring their civilian employees to

relocate. As agreed, we are also providing information on trends for the

number and cost of civilian employee relocations during this period.

The General Services Administration (GSA) periodically has surveyed

federal agencies to, among other things, obtain and analyze the estimated

total payments for employee relocation travel. However, GSA’s most recent

survey of federal agencies’ relocation travel was done in 1991 and the

results have not been analyzed. To provide the requested information, for

fiscal years 1991 through 1995, we surveyed executive branch

departments; their subordinate agencies, bureaus, and administrations;

and the largest independent agencies (hereafter referred to as federal

organizations).1

 In total we surveyed 120 federal organizations. These

organizations employed about 1.9 million civilian employees, representing

96 percent of the federal civilian workforce as of September 1995. We

received responses from 119 of the 120 organizations.2

1

We excluded the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from our survey

because they receive minimal or no appropriations to fund their operations.

2

The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration did not respond to our

survey.

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Most of the 119 federal organizations that reported information on the

numbers of relocations did so using one of two different categories:

• relocations authorized, that is, the number of civilian employees who were

reported as approved to relocate; and

• relocations made, that is, the number of civilian employees who were

reported as actually relocated.

Similarly, most of the 119 federal organizations that reported on the costs

of relocations did so using one of two different categories:

• relocation obligations, that is, the total funds obligated, for each fiscal

year, at the time the relocation was approved and against which

expenditures were to later be posted; and

• relocation expenditures, that is, the actual disbursements during each

fiscal year for the costs incurred to relocate civilian employees.

These different reporting categories for numbers and costs of relocations

are not directly comparable. Accordingly, we report separately the

information from the federal organizations that responded using each

category. One organization, the Department of the Navy, reported its

relocation information using all four reporting categories (relocations

authorized and made and relocation obligations and expenditures). When

Navy’s components reported to Navy headquarters their number of civilian

employees relocated, some components reported relocations authorized

and others reported relocations made. Also, when reporting the cost of

civilian employee relocations, some Navy components reported

obligations and others reported expenditures. For this reason, we provide

different segments of the Navy’s relocation information in whichever of

the categories Navy’s components reported them for the number and costs

to relocate civilian employees. As a result, in aggregating the data across

all of the organizations in our survey, part of the Department of the Navy is

included in each category. In total, we report relocations authorized for 97

organizations and relocations made for 23 organizations. Similarly, we

report relocation obligations for 97 organizations and relocation

expenditures for 23 organizations.3

The data provided in this report are based on the best information the

federal organizations could provide and are not complete for each of the

years for which we requested data. Several organizations did not provide

information for all years during the 1991 through 1995 period. A few other

3

Because of the inclusion of the Navy in each category, the total number of organizations reporting

numbers and costs of relocations in the detailed tables is 120.

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organizations did not provide information for all of their components for

all of the years during this period. In addition, some organizations did not

provide certain types of relocation costs in their reported obligations or

expenditures. As a result, the information in this report probably

understates the actual numbers and costs of civilian employee relocations.

Results in Brief For fiscal years 1991 through 1995:4

• Ninety-seven federal organizations reported authorizing about 132,800

relocations, and 23 other organizations reported making about 40,200

relocations.5

 A small number of organizations accounted for the bulk of

the relocations authorized or made. While the total number of relocations

authorized and the total number of relocations made fluctuated yearly

across the organizations that provided data for all 5 fiscal years, there was

moderate change in these totals between fiscal years 1991 and 1995.

Across the organizations that provided data for all 5 fiscal years, the total

number of relocations authorized decreased by less than 1 percent (89

organizations) and the total number of relocations made increased by

about 12.5 percent (19 organizations) from fiscal year 1991 to fiscal year

1995.

• Ninety-seven federal organizations reported obligating about $3.4 billion

for relocations, and 23 other organizations reported expending about

$363 million for relocations.6

 Again, a small number of organizations

accounted for the bulk of the relocation obligations or expenditures.

Across the organizations that provided data for all 5 fiscal years, total

relocation obligations varied and total relocation expenditures increased

yearly. And, there was a noticeable change in these totals between fiscal

years 1991 and 1995. In constant 1995 dollars, total relocation obligations

increased about 16 percent (83 organizations) and total relocation

expenditures increased about 88 percent (22 organizations) from fiscal

year 1991 to fiscal year 1995. For the 22 organizations, this increase was

due to the Department of the Navy’s expenditures. Excluding the Navy’s

expenditures, the 21 remaining organizations’ total expenditures

decreased by less than 1 percent during the period.

4

In considering the data presented here, it should be noted that some relocations authorized may not

have occurred at all or during fiscal years 1991 through 1995. Moreover, some of the relocation

obligations may not have been expended at all or during the 5-year period covered, or actual

expenditures could have been different from the amounts obligated.

5

The Department of the Navy reported both relocations authorized and made.

6

The Department of the Navy reported both relocation obligations and expenditures.

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• Fifteen federal organizations reported that they had mandatory rotational

policies requiring some of their employees to rotate on a prescribed

schedule. Most of these organizations attributed their policies to federal

regulations that limit overseas tours of duty. Based on data provided by

these 15 organizations, we estimated that these rotational policies

accounted for about 19 percent of the total relocations reported as

authorized and about 7 percent of the total relocations reported as made

during this period.

Background Federal organizations relocate their civilian employees to help them

accomplish their many varied and unique missions. Organizations carry

out their missions through a civilian workforce of nearly 2 million

employees assigned to offices in locations throughout the United States,

its territories and possessions, and various foreign countries. The

Secretary of State determines the length of an overseas tour for Foreign

Service Officers. The tour of duty overseas for Department of Defense

(DOD) employees is prescribed by DOD’s Joint Travel Regulations (2 JTR).

When civilian employees are authorized to relocate in the interests of the

government, they are to be authorized to relocate prior to the time they

actually move, and they generally have up to 2 years, and can request a

third year, from the date that they report to their new location to complete

the relocation and receive reimbursement for the associated costs.

Therefore, the actual relocation may not take place in the fiscal year that it

is authorized. Also, expenses associated with the relocation may be paid to

the employee over the 2- to 3-year period.

Two federal laws provide government organizations with the primary

authority to pay the travel and related expenses of relocating a civilian

employee: the Administrative Expenses Act of 1946, as amended, 5 U.S.C.

§§ 5701-5742, and the Foreign Service Act of 1980, 22 U.S.C. 4081.7 GSA’s

Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), 41 C.F.R., chapters 301 to 304,

implements the provisions of the Administrative Expenses Act. FTR,

chapter 302, governs the travel and relocation expenses of civilian

employees, except those in the Foreign Service. Based on authority

provided in the Foreign Service Act, travel and relocation expenses for

Foreign Service Officers are prescribed by the Secretary of State in the

7

In addition to the Department of State, Foreign Service Officers were also assigned to other federal

organizations, including the Agency for International Development; Department of Commerce;

Department of Agriculture; and the U.S. Information Agency. There are also other employees serving

overseas that have been granted statutory authority to receive benefits and allowances comparable to

those granted officers and employees of the Foreign Service, such as certain employees of the

Department of the Treasury and the Defense Intelligence Agency. 31 U.S.C. § 325; 37 U.S.C. § 431.

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Foreign Service Travel Regulations. These regulations are contained in

volume 6 of the Foreign Affairs Manual (6 FAM). Once any civilian

employee is located in a foreign area, his or her travel allowances and

differentials are set by the Secretary of State in the Standardized

Regulations (Government Civilians, Foreign Areas).

Both the Department of State’s and GSA’s travel regulations authorize

federal organizations to pay basically the same expenses for relocations

within the United States. These expenses include transportation of

individuals, per diem, subsistence, transportation and storage of

household and personal effects, and real estate expenses. The key

difference is that Foreign Service Officers are not entitled to relocation

income tax allowances. Overseas, the Standard Regulations apply to both

Foreign Service Officers and other civilian employees, and generally

provide them with the same allowances. These allowances include living

quarters allowance, temporary quarters subsistence allowance, and cost of

living allowance. One difference is that Foreign Service Officers are

entitled to separation travel, which is relocation to anyplace in the United

States that they choose upon retirement regardless of where they are

located when they retire. On the other hand, other civilian employees

returning from overseas are only entitled to reimbursement for travel and

relocation expenses to their home of record. Another difference is that

Foreign Service Officers may be authorized rest and recuperation travel

when assigned to a hardship post. In order to receive reimbursement for

relocation expenses/allowances to which they are entitled, both civilian

employees and Foreign Service Officers must sign a service agreement to

remain with the government for 12 months after the date that they report

to their new duty station, mission, or agency, unless they leave the

government for reasons beyond their control and that are acceptable to

the agency. An employee who violates the agreement must repay the

government the amount it spent to relocate him or her.

Neither FTR nor FAM specifically define the term relocation. For the

purposes of this report, we define relocation as (1) the transfer, in the

interest of the government, of an existing civilian employee or appointee

from one office, mission, or agency to another for permanent duty; (2) the

moving of a new eligible appointee from his or her actual residence in one

location to his or her first office or mission in another location; (3) the

return of an existing eligible civilian employee or appointee who is

separated from an overseas office or mission to his or her actual

residence; and (4) the return of an existing eligible career appointee on

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B-274212 

retirement from an office or mission to his or her elected residence within

the United States, its territories, or possessions.

Collecting exact cost information for relocation travel is difficult. Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-11, Preparation and

Submission of Budget Estimates and Circular No. A-34 Instructions on

Budget Execution require that federal organizations record obligations

and expenditures by object class according to the nature of the services or

articles procured. There are no object classes dedicated solely to

recording relocation travel obligations and expenditures. Rather,

relocation obligations and expenditures are captured in at least four

different object classes, along with obligations and expenses that are not

related to relocation travel. These object classes include (1) 12.1 civilian

personnel benefits; (2) 21.0 travel and transportation of persons; (3) 22.0

transportation of things; and (4) 25.7 operation and maintenance of

equipment (related to storage of household goods). As a result, relocation

obligations and expenditures cannot be extracted from OMB budget/object

class data. Instead, relocation obligations and expenditures must be

obtained from each federal organization through queries of its automated

systems or examination of its travel records.

As the government’s travel manager, GSA’s Office of Governmentwide

Policy is responsible for establishing governmentwide civilian travel and

relocation policy, updating FTR, gathering travel and relocation costs, and

providing leadership to develop sound travel and relocation policy. GSA

was required by the Federal Civilian Employee and Contractor Travel

Expenses Act of 1985, 5 U.S.C. § 5707(c), to periodically, but at least every

2 years, submit to the Director of OMB an analysis of, among other things,

estimated total agency payments for employee relocation. GSA is to survey

a sampling of agencies, each of which spent more than $5 million on travel

and transportation payments in the prior fiscal year. This provision was to

expire with the administrator’s submission of the analysis that included

fiscal year 1991. The Treasury, Postal Service and General Government

Appropriations Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 103-329 (Sept. 30, 1994), reinstated

this provision with no future expiration date. GSA collected the required

travel information for fiscal years 1989, 1990, and 1991. However, GSA only

analyzed the travel information for fiscal year 1989. GSA’s Office of

Governmentwide Policy recently distributed its survey to collect travel

information, including relocation travel, for fiscal year 1996.

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Scope and

Methodology

To provide the requested civilian employee relocation information, we

developed and distributed a questionnaire to 120 federal organizations. We

asked the organizations to report their total number of and cost for civilian

employee relocations. We also asked whether they had a rotational policy

that resulted in civilian employee relocations. We received responses from

119 (or 99 percent) of the 120 organizations surveyed. The Department of

Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, which had a civilian

workforce of less than 400 employees, did not provide a response. The

names of the organizations that we surveyed are listed in appendix I.

To develop the questionnaire and ensure its completeness, we researched

FTR and OMB Circular No. A-11 to identify the allowances for relocation

expenses and the object classes that federal organizations use to record

relocation obligations, respectively. We drafted the questionnaire with the

assistance of our staff knowledgeable in federal travel and relocation

practices. We pretested the questionnaire with the following six

organizations: the Bureau of the Census, Defense Educational Activity,

Department of State, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marine

Corps, and Office of Personnel Management. Using the pretest results, we

revised the questionnaire to help ensure that our questions were

interpreted correctly and that the requested relocation information was

available.

We did not independently verify the accuracy of the civilian employee

relocation information that the federal organizations provided or assess

the appropriateness of their relocations or the associated cost because of

time constraints and the number of organizations surveyed. However, we

reviewed each questionnaire for clarity and completeness and followed up

with the organization’s contact person in those instances in which the

responses were unclear or incomplete.

To provide information on rotational policies that resulted in civilian

employee relocations, we obtained copies of these policies from the

pertinent federal organizations. We reviewed the policies to understand

their purposes, their rotational requirements, and which employees were

affected. Additionally, we interviewed cognizant officials to discuss the

policies in greater detail, clarify specific issues, and determine current use

of the policies. Appendix II contains a more detailed description of our

objectives, scope, and methodology.

We did our work in Washington, D.C., from June 1996 to June 1997 in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

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Because it was impractical for us to obtain comments from all 119 federal

organizations, we requested comments on a draft of this report from the

Director of OMB and the Administrator of GSA. Their comments are

discussed at the end of this letter.

Federal Organizations

Reported Relocating

Thousands of Civilian

Employees

Most of the federal organizations that responded to our survey reported

authorizing over 130,000 relocations and the other organizations reported

making over 40,000 relocations during fiscal years 1991 through 1995. A

small percentage of the organizations reported the majority of the

relocations. Over half of the relocations authorized or made were reported

by 7 percent and 9 percent of the organizations, respectively. In addition,

while the total number of relocations authorized and the total number of

relocations made fluctuated yearly across the organizations that reported

data for all 5 fiscal years, there was moderate overall change between

fiscal years 1991 and 1995.

Reported Civilian

Employee Relocations

Authorized

Ninety-seven federal organizations that responded to our survey reported

that they authorized 132,837 civilian employees to relocate at the

government’s expense from fiscal year 1991 through fiscal year 1995.8

However, the total number of relocations authorized is probably

understated because 7 of the 97 organizations did not, for various reasons,

provide this relocation information for all 5 fiscal years. Also, one

organization did not report relocations authorized by one of its

components for fiscal year 1991. As shown in figure 1, seven organizations

accounted for 52 percent (69,072) of the reported relocations authorized.

Among the seven organizations, the number of relocations authorized

ranged from 17,881 by the Department of State to 5,509 by the Forest

Service. (Appendix III shows the number of relocations authorized for

each fiscal year reported by the federal organizations.)

8

Twenty-three other organizations reported relocations made during this period.

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Figure 1: Seven Federal Organizations

Accounted for Over 50 Percent of

Relocations Reported as Authorized,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

Seven organizations accounting for 52 percent of relocations authorized

48.0%

Federal Aviation

Administration

Department of State

Federal Bureau 

of Prisons

4.3% Federal Bureau of

Investigation

Department of the Navy

Rest of organizations

4.1% Forest Service

Defense Education

Activity

13.5%

6.3%

6.7%

9.3%

7.8%

Source: GAO calculations based on survey data provided by the federal organizations.

Because not all of the 97 federal organizations that reported relocations

authorized provided relocation information for all of their components for

all 5 fiscal years, we were precluded from determining the total change in

relocations authorized. However, 89 organizations did provide relocation

information for all 5 fiscal years. Across these organizations, total

relocations authorized fluctuated yearly. In fiscal year 1991, total

relocations authorized were about 25,600; they continually declined to a

low of about 20,080 in fiscal year 1993. Thereafter, total relocations

authorized began to increase, and in fiscal year 1995 reached about 25,370.

Overall, total relocations authorized decreased less than 1 percent from

fiscal year 1991 to fiscal year 1995.

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Reported Civilian

Employee Relocations

Made

The 23 other federal organizations that responded to our survey reported

that they made 40,252 civilian employee relocations from fiscal year 1991

through fiscal year 1995.9

 The total number of relocations reportedly made

was probably understated because 4 of the 23 organizations—including

the Departments of the Army, Energy, and the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, which were among those that made the most

relocations—did not provide complete relocation information for all 5

fiscal years. As shown in table 1, the Departments of the Army and the

Navy accounted for 21,947 (about 55 percent) of the reported civilian

employee relocations made. (Appendix IV shows the number of

relocations made for each fiscal year reported by the federal

organizations.)

Table 1: Two Federal Organizations

Accounted for Over 50 Percent of

Reported Relocations Made,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

Number of federal

organizations

Federal

organizations

Reported

relocations made

Percentage of

total relocations

made

1 Dept. of the Army 16,009 39.77%

2 Dept. of the Navy 5,938 14.75

Subtotal 21,947 54.52

3-23 Other federal

organizations

18,305 45.58

Total 40,252 100%

Source: GAO survey.

Nineteen federal organizations reported relocations made for all 5 fiscal

years. Across these organizations, total relocations made varied yearly.

Relocations made increased from 3,468 in fiscal year 1991 to 3,759 in fiscal

year 1992. In fiscal year 1993, relocations made decreased to a low of

3,426. But, total relocations made increased to 3,622 in fiscal year 1994 and

rose to 3,902 in fiscal year 1995. Overall, total relocations made increased

about 12.5 percent from fiscal year 1991 to fiscal year 1995.

Although relocations reportedly made increased over the 5-year period,

this increase was not distributed evenly among the 19 federal

organizations. Two organizations—Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)—reported the greatest changes in

relocations made. DLA’s reported relocations made rose about 221 percent,

from 301 civilian relocations made in fiscal year 1991 to 965 in fiscal year

1995. According to a DLA official, the number of civilian relocations made

9

The Department of the Navy reported both relocations authorized and made based on how its

components reported their number of civilian employees relocated to Navy headquarters.

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increased substantially during this period due to base realignments and

closures and Defense Management Review decisions. These decisions

resulted in DLA acquiring control of all DOD supply depots and supporting

civilian employees. DLA consolidated these depots, reducing the number

from 31 to 23 and relocated employees from closing depots to gaining

depots. DLA also consolidated its 9 contract management districts into 2

districts, which led to additional civilian relocations. TVA’s reported

relocations made decreased by 52 percent, from 1,026 in fiscal year 1991 to

490 in fiscal year 1995. TVA did not provide an explanation for this

decrease. The changes in the number of relocations made reported by DLA

and TVA generally offset each other. Collectively, the 17 remaining

organizations displayed about a 14-percent overall increase in relocations

made during this period.

Federal Organizations

Reported Billions in

Costs to Relocate

Civilian Employees

Most of the federal organizations that responded to our survey reported

obligating over $3 billion for relocations and the other organizations

reported expending over $350 million for relocations during fiscal years

1991 through 1995. Again, a small percentage of the organizations reported

the majority of the costs. Over half of the total relocation obligations were

reported by 8 percent of the organizations, and 70 percent of the total

relocation expenditures were reported by 13 percent of the organizations.

Across the organizations that provided data for all 5 fiscal years, total

relocation obligations and total relocation expenditures varied yearly.

When adjusted for inflation, there was a noticeable increase in the total

reported relocation obligations and a larger increase in total relocation

expenditures. However, the majority of the increase in total relocation

expenditures was due to one organization.

Funds Reported as

Obligated to Relocate

Civilian Employees

Ninety-seven federal organizations reported that they obligated about

$3.4 billion for employee relocation expenses for fiscal years 1991 through

1995.10 Fourteen of the 97 organizations did not provide information for all

5 fiscal years, which probably resulted in an understatement of the funds

reported obligated. Also, nine organizations did not provide obligations for

certain relocation expense categories, and one organization did not

provide fiscal year 1994 relocation obligations for its regional offices. As

shown in figure 2, eight organizations accounted for over 53 percent

(about $1.8 billion) of the total reported obligations for employee

relocation expenses. (Each federal organization’s reported relocation

obligations are located in appendix V.)

10Twenty-three other organizations reported relocation expenditures during this period.

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Figure 2: Eight Federal Organizations

Accounted for Over 50 Percent of

Reported Relocation Obligations,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

5.3%

Eight organizations accounting for 53.5 percent of relocation obligations

Federal Aviation

Administration

Department of the Army

Federal Bureau 

of Prisons

Federal Bureau of

Investigation

Department of the Navy

Rest of organizations

3.5% Forest Service

Department of State

4.0% Department of

Veterans Affairs

11.4%

10.0%

8.9%

5.5%

5.3%

4.9%

46.5%

Source: GAO calculations based on survey data provided by the federal organizations.

From fiscal year 1991 through fiscal year 1995, the total reported

relocation obligations fluctuated yearly across the 83 federal organizations

that provided relocation obligations for all 5 fiscal years. In constant 1995

dollars, total relocation obligations continually decreased from

$652.1 billion in fiscal year 1991 to $546.9 billion in fiscal year 1993. But,

total relocation obligations increased in fiscal year 1994 and rose to

$759.6 billion in fiscal year 1995. Overall, total relocation obligations

increased about 16 percent from fiscal year 1991 to fiscal year 1995. This

increase was not greatly influenced by one organization or a small group

of organizations.

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Funds Reported as

Expended to Relocate

Civilian Employees

The 23 other federal organizations reported that for fiscal years 1991

through 1995 they expended over $362.8 million to relocate their civilian

employees.11 Reported relocation expenditures were probably understated

because one organization did not report fiscal year 1992 relocation

expenditures for one of its components. In addition, 2 of the 23

organizations did not provide expenditures for all expense categories. As

shown in table 2, the Departments of Energy and the Navy and the U.S.

Information Agency accounted for over $254 million (70 percent) of the

total reported expenditures to relocate civilian employees during this

period. (Appendix VI shows the reported relocation expenditures for each

fiscal year by federal organization.)

Table 2: Three Federal Organizations

Accounted for 70 Percent of Reported

Relocation Expenditures,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

Number of federal

organizations

Federal

organizations

Reported

expenditures for

relocations

Percentage

of the total

expenditures

1 Dept. of the Navy $141,106,720 38.9%

2 Dept. of Energy 65,481,906 18.0

3 U.S. Information

Agency

47,416,397 13.1

Subtotal $254,005,023 70.0%

3-23 Other federal

organizations

108,818,666 30.0

Total $362,823,689 100%

Source: GAO Survey.

Annually, total reported relocation expenditures increased across the 22

federal organizations that provided relocation expenditures for all 5 fiscal

years and included each of their components. In constant 1995 dollars,

total relocation expenditures increased from $45.7 million in fiscal year

1991 to $46 million in fiscal year 1992. In fiscal year 1993, total relocation

expenditures increased to $50.3 million; in fiscal year 1994, increased to

$81 million; and in fiscal year 1995, rose to $86 million. Overall, total

relocation expenditures increased about 88 percent from fiscal year 1991

to fiscal year 1995. The Navy accounted for this increase because its

reported relocation expenditures more than quadrupled during this period.

Navy’s relocation expenditures reportedly rose about 367 percent, from

$11 million in fiscal year 1991 to $51.4 million in fiscal year 1995, in

constant 1995 dollars. According to a Navy official, expenditures for

civilian relocations increased substantially during this period due to the

11The Department of the Navy reported both relocation obligations and expenditures based on how its

components reported their cost of civilian employee relocations to Navy headquarters.

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increase in the number of relocations caused by base realignment and

closure decisions. During this period Navy closed or began closing and

realigning 114 bases. Excluding the Navy from the total expenditures, the

21 remaining organizations’ total reported relocation expenditures

decreased by less than 1 percent, from $34.7 million in fiscal year 1991 to

$34.6 million in fiscal year 1995.

Number of Federal

Organizations

Reporting Mandatory

Rotational Policies

Fifteen federal organizations reported that they had rotational policies that

required some of their civilian employees to relocate on a prescribed

schedule. Nine of the 15 organizations reported that they had these

policies because they assign their civilian employees to overseas locations

and must comply with federal regulations or a treaty that limits such

employees’ tours of duty. The six remaining organizations reported that

they had these policies either to (1) maintain the safety and security of

their civilian employees who may be assigned to dangerous/hazardous

locations, (2) maintain their civilian employees’ objectivity when

inspecting or auditing specific locations, or (3) enhance the job-related

knowledge and experiences of their civilian employees, regardless of

where they are assigned.

In addition, the 15 federal organizations estimated the annual percentage

of their civilian employee relocations that were due to their rotational

policies. Among these organizations, their estimated annual percentages

ranged from 100 to less than 1. Using the organizations’ estimated

percentages, we calculated the estimated impact these policies had on the

number of civilian employee relocations authorized and made by the 15

organizations. Specifically, we multiplied each organization’s percentage

by either its reported number of relocations authorized or made. As shown

in table 3, 11 organizations’ (including some Navy components’) rotational

policies led to an estimated 24,671 civilian employees being authorized to

relocate during fiscal years 1991 through 1995. These relocations

authorized—triggered by rotational policies—accounted for about

18.6 percent of the total reported relocations authorized.

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Table 3: Estimated Number of Relocations Authorized Due to 11 Federal Organizations’ Rotational Policies,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

Rotational policy relocations

Number of federal organizations

Federal organizations with

rotational policies

Reported total

relocations

authorized

Estimated

relocations

authorized

Percentage of

organization’s

relocations

authorized

1 Department of Justice—Drug

Enforcement Administration

2,972 2,972 100.00%

2 Department of State 17,881 17,845 99.80

3 Agency for International

Development

2,560 2,458 96.02

4 Nuclear Regulatory Commission 737 553 75.03

5 Department of Justice—Federal

Bureau of Investigation

5,766 635 11.01

6 Department of Defense—Defense

Intelligence Agency

346 38 10.98

7 Department of Defense—Defense

Contract Audit Agency

675 69 10.22

8 Panama Canal Commission 557 40 7.18

9 Department of Defense—Defense

Mapping Agency

616 38 6.17

10 Department of Defense—Navy 12,382 22 0.18

11 Department of Agriculture—Animal

and Plant Health Inspection

Service

871 1 0.11

12-97 Other federal organizations 87,474 0 0.00

Total 132,837 24,671 18.57%

Source: GAO calculations based on survey data provided by the federal organizations.

As shown in table 4, five federal organizations’ (including some Navy

components’) rotational policies resulted in an estimated 2,792 civilian

employees being relocated during the same 5-year period. These

relocations made—triggered by rotational policies—accounted for about

6.9 percent of the total relocations made that were reported by the

organizations we surveyed.

Page 15 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
B-274212 

Table 4: Estimated Number of Relocations Made Due to Five Federal Organizations’ Rotational Policies,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

Rotational policy relocations

Number of federal organizations

Federal organizations with

rotational policies

Reported total

relocations made

Estimated

relocations made

Percentage of

organization’s

relocations made

1 U.S. Information Agency 2,715 2,593 95.51%

2 Department of

Commerce—International Trade

Administration

445 152 34.16

3 Department of Defense—Defense

Logistics Agency

3,450 31 0.90

4 Department of Defense—Navy 5,938 11 0.19

5 Department of Defense—Armya 10,836 5 0.05

6-23 Other federal organizations 16,868 0 0.00

Total 40,252 2,792 6.94%

aWe did not include Army’s reported relocations for fiscal years 1991 and 1992 because Army did

not report an estimated percentage of relocations made due to its rotational policy for these

years.

Source: GAO calculations based on survey data provided by the federal organizations.

Agency Comments On June 5, 1997, we requested comments on a draft of this report from the

Director of OMB and the Administrator of GSA. On June 11, 1997, GSA

officials, including the Acting Director, Travel & Transportation

Management Policy Division, provided oral comments. In general, GSA

officials characterized the report as a useful resource that will assist them

in fulfilling GSA’s legislative requirement to biannually survey agencies and

report on, among other things, the estimated cost of civilian employee

relocations. GSA officials also provided updated information on the status

of GSA’s biannual survey and technical comments. On June 11, 1997, OMB

staff within the Justice and GSA Branch provided their views on the draft

report, which were technical in nature and involved clarification issues.

GSA’s and OMB’s technical comments were incorporated in the report where

appropriate.

Copies of this report will be sent to the Ranking Minority Members of your

Committees; the Administrator of the General Services Administration; the

Director of the Office of Management and Budget; all federal organizations

Page 16 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
B-274212 

included in this report; and other interested parties. Copies will also be

made available to others upon request.

If you have any questions concerning this report, please call me on

(202) 512-4232 or Gerald P. Barnes, Assistant Director, on (202) 512-4228.

Major contributors are listed in appendix VII.

Bernard L. Ungar

Director, Government Business

 Operations Issues

Page 17 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Contents

Letter 1

Appendix I 

Federal Organizations

Surveyed

20

Appendix II 

Objectives, Scope,

and Methodology

24

Appendix III 

Reported Number of

Relocations

Authorized by 97

Federal Organizations

27

Appendix IV 

Reported Number of

Relocations Made by

23 Federal

Organizations

31

Appendix V 

Reported Relocation

Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

33

Appendix VI 

Reported Relocation

Expenditures by 23

Federal Organizations

40

Page 18 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Contents

Appendix VII 

Major Contributors to

This Report

42

Tables Table 1: Two Federal Organizations Accounted for Over 50

Percent of Reported Relocations Made,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

10

Table 2: Three Federal Organizations Accounted for 70 Percent of

Reported Relocation Expenditures,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

13

Table 3: Estimated Number of Relocations Authorized Due to 11

Federal Organizations’ Rotational Policies,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

15

Table 4: Estimated Number of Relocations Made Due to Five

Federal Organizations’ Rotational Policies,

Fiscal Years 1991 Through 1995

16

Figures Figure 1: Seven Federal Organizations Accounted for Over 50

Percent of Relocations Reported as Authorized, Fiscal Years 1991

Through 1995

9

Figure 2: Eight Federal Organizations Accounted for Over 50

Percent of Reported Relocation Obligations, Fiscal Years 1991

Through 1995

12

Abbreviations

DLA Defense Logistics Agency

DOD Department of Defense

FAM Foreign Affairs Manual

FTR Federal Travel Regulation

GSA General Services Administration

JTR Joint Travel Regulations

OMB Office of Management and Budget

TVA Tennessee Valley Authority

Page 19 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix I 

Federal Organizations Surveyed

We developed and distributed a questionnaire to provide the requested

relocation information. The following lists the federal organizations that

we surveyed:

Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service

Agricultural Research Service

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Cooperative, State, Research, Education & Extension

Service

Farm Service Agency

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Food and Consumer Service

Forest Service

Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Office of Communications

Office of the Inspector General

Office of the Secretary

Risk Management Agency

Rural Development

Departmental Administration

Department of Commerce

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Bureau of Export Administration

Bureau of the Census

Economic Development Administration

International Trade Administration

Minority Business Development Agency

National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Technical Information Service

National Telecommunications and Information

Administration

Office of Inspector General

Office of the Secretary

(continued)

Page 20 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix I 

Federal Organizations Surveyed

Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration

Department of Defense

Defense Education Activity

Defense Information Systems Agency

Defense Intelligence Agency

Defense Investigative Service

Defense Logistics Agency

Defense Mapping Agency

Defense Special Weapons Agency

Department of the Air Force

Department of the Army

Department of the Navy

U.S. Marine Corps

Defense Contract Audit Agency

Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Aging

Agency for Health Care Policy & Research

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food & Drug Administration

Health Care Financing Administration

Health Resources & Services Administration

National Institutes of Health

Office for Civil Rights

Office of General Counsel

Office of Inspector General

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Reclamation

Minerals Management Service

National Park Service

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Geological Survey

Office of the Secretary

(continued)

Page 21 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix I 

Federal Organizations Surveyed

Department of Justice

Drug Enforcement Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Prisons

Immigration and Naturalization Service

Office of Justice Programs

U.S. Attorneys Office

U.S. Marshals Service

Offices, boards, and divisions

Department of Transportation

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Transit Administration

Maritime Administration

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Office of Inspector General

Research and Special Programs Administration

U.S. Coast Guard

Office of the Secretary

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Bureau of the Public Debt

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Financial Management Service

Internal Revenue Service

Office of Thrift Supervision

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

U.S. Customs Service

U.S. Mint

U.S. Secret Service

Departmental Offices and Office of the Inspector General

Other federal organizations

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of Labor

(continued)

Page 22 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix I 

Federal Organizations Surveyed

Department of State

Department of Veterans Affairs

Agency for International Development

Environmental Protection Agency

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Emergency Management Agency

General Services Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Archives and Records Administration

National Labor Relations Board

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Personnel Management

Panama Canal Commission

Securities and Exchange Commission

Small Business Administration

Smithsonian Institution

Social Security Administration

Tennessee Valley Authority

U.S. Information Agency

Page 23 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix II 

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

As agreed, our objectives were to provide information for the executive

branch departments and largest independent agencies on (1) the total

number of civilian employees who were relocated at the federal

government’s expense, (2) the total cost of these relocations to the

government, and (3) the agencies that had rotational policies requiring

their civilian employees to relocate.

To provide the requested relocation information, we developed and

distributed a questionnaire to the 14 executive branch departments and

the 18 largest independent agencies.1

 Relocation travel at most of the 14

executive branch departments is decentralized, and subordinate

agencies/bureaus/administrations controlled their own relocations. Thus,

we requested that a separate questionnaire be completed by each federal

organization that had control over its relocations. As a result, the

questionnaire was distributed to a total of 120 federal organizations.2

These federal organizations employed about 1.9 million civilian

employees, representing 96 percent of the federal civilian workforce as of

September 1995. We received responses from 119 of the 120 federal

organizations. The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development

Administration, which had a workforce of less than 400 employees, did not

provide a response. Appendix I lists the federal organizations we surveyed.

To develop the questionnaire and ensure its completeness, we researched

FTR and OMB Circular No. A-11, Preparation and Submission of Budget

Estimates, to identify the allowances for relocation expenses and the

object classes that federal organizations are to use in reporting relocation

obligations. We drafted the questionnaire with the assistance of our staff

knowledgeable of federal travel and relocation practices. We pretested the

questionnaire with six federal organizations: the Bureau of the Census,

Defense Educational Activity, Department of State, Drug Enforcement

Administration, U.S. Marine Corps, and the Office of Personnel

Management. Using the pretest results, we revised the questionnaire to

help ensure that our questions were interpreted correctly and that the

requested relocation information was available.

Federal organizations are not required to track or keep relocation

information in any specific way. During pretesting, we found that

1

We excluded the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from our survey

because they receive minimal or no appropriations to fund their operations.

2

The executive branch civilian workforce decreased during the period covered by this review. The

civilian workforce decreased from about 2.2 million employees in fiscal year 1991 to about 2 million

employees in fiscal year 1995.

Page 24 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix II 

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

organizations maintained relocation travel information at different

organizational levels and used different categories to track the

information. Organizations had to go through varying levels of effort to

provide the information that we requested. Some organizations had

centralized automated systems that required them to write special

programs to extract the information. Some of the organizations with

automated systems had to retrieve the earlier years of information from

archives and then run special programs to extract the information we

requested. Other organizations did not have centralized systems or

reporting requirements for this type of information and had to query a

number of local offices, which in turn had to go through automated or

paper records to obtain the information. We also know of at least one

organization that had to go through paper records and manually tabulate

the number and cost of its relocations. The organizations generally took

from 1 to 3 months to complete the questionnaire.

Since federal organizations maintained relocation information at different

levels and used different categories for tracking purposes, our

questionnaire was carefully designed to collect the best and most

complete information possible from each federal organization on its

number and cost of relocations. The questionnaire allowed organizations

to report their relocation information based on the categories they used.

As a result, for the number of relocations, 97 organizations reported

relocations that they authorized and the other 23 organizations reported

the relocations that they made. Similarly, the cost of relocations were

reported by 97 organizations using obligations, while the other 23

organizations reported expenditures. To help the organizations report

complete cost data, we developed a list of the expense categories related

to relocation travel. We developed this list based on our research of FTR

and discussions with knowledgeable officials in several federal

organizations. Our survey asked the federal organizations to include costs

incurred in all of these expense categories and to indicate if there were

categories of expenses for which they could not provide cost data.

While federal organizations are not required to track or keep relocation

data in a specific way, they are required to maintain travel records for 6

years that contain information on reimbursements for individuals. Based

on your request for relocation information over the last several years, our

questionnaire was designed to collect relocation information for fiscal

years 1990 through 1995. However, at the time we sent the questionnaires

to the federal organizations, they were required to have data for fiscal

years 1991 through 1996, and many organizations could not provide the

Page 25 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix II 

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

data for 1990. Therefore, our report presents information for fiscal years

1991 through 1995.

Although most federal organizations were able to provide the requested

information for fiscal years 1991 through 1995, the total numbers and costs

of relocations are understated in three respects. First, 15 organizations

were not able to provide any information for 1 or more years for one or

two of the four reporting categories. Second, 10 federal organizations

reported that they could not provide any cost information for one or more

of the expense categories. Lastly, 6 organizations said that the information

they reported did not include data from all components for at least 1 year.

Federal organizations’ reasons for not being able to provide the requested

information included (1) records were inaccessible due to asbestos

contamination; (2) records were incomplete due to office or base closures

or realignments; (3) records had been sent to off-site storage;

(4) accounting systems had changed during the period; and (5) the

inability to separate relocation related travel expenses from other travel

expenses.

We did not independently verify the accuracy of the relocation information

that the federal organizations provided because of time constraints and the

number of federal organizations surveyed. However, we reviewed each

questionnaire for clarity and completeness and followed up with the

federal organization’s contact personnel in those instances in which the

response(s) was unclear or incomplete.

To provide information on rotational policies that resulted in civilian

employee relocations, we obtained copies of these policies from the

pertinent federal organizations. We reviewed the policies to understand

their purposes, their rotational requirements, and which employees were

affected. Additionally, we interviewed cognizant officials to discuss the

policies in greater detail, clarify specific issues, and determine current use

of the policies.

We did our work in Washington, D.C., from June 1996 to June 1997 in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. We

did not request comments on this report from the heads of the 119 federal

organizations that responded to our survey because it was impractical. We

requested comments on a draft of this report from the Director of OMB and

the Administrator of GSA. GSA provided oral comments, which are

discussed in this report. In addition, GSA and OMB provided technical

comments, which are incorporated in the report where appropriate.

Page 26 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix III 

Reported Number of Relocations Authorized

by 97 Federal Organizations

Relocations authorized reported by fiscal year

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total relocations

authorized,

1991-1995

Agency for International Development

Agencywide information provided 495 602 469 498 496 2,560

Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service 152 130 111 112 109 614

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 208 214 148 144 157 871

Cooperative, State, Research, Education,

and Extension Service

12 6 10 3 2 33

Farm Service Agency 89 71 47 29 124 360

Food Safety and Inspection Service 376 324 281 295 250 1,526

Forest Service 1,254 1,037 837 1,022 1,359 5,509

National Agricultural Statistics Service 139 73 51 74 36 373

Natural Resources Conservation Service 879 793 604 690 913 3,879

Office of Communications 0 0 0 4 0 4

Office of Inspector General 20 16 11 11 15 73

Office of the Secretary 2 0 5 3 0 10

Risk Management Agency 10 52 43 28 22 155

Rural Development 398 539 224 319 382 1,862

Departmental Administration 2 1 0 2 4 9

Department of Commerce

Bureau of Economic Analysis 0 0 0 0 0 0

Bureau of Export Administration 2 1 0 0 4 7

Bureau of the Census 155 115 37 48 47 402

Minority Business Development Agency 0 1 5 6 3 15

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

60 83 95 85 77 400

National Technical Information Service 0 0 0 0 0 0

Patent and Trademark Office 0 32 0 0 106 138

U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration 1 1 1 0 0 3

Department of Defense

Defense Education Activitya 814 2,297 2,070 2,386 2,735 10,302

Defense Information Systems Agency 13 61 70 196 210 550

Defense Intelligence Agency 58 76 73 73 66 346

Defense Mapping Agency 74 127 154 179 82 616

Defense Special Weapons Agency 2 9 4 15 2 32

Department of the Air Force 900 900 900 900 900 4,500

Department of the Navy 1,723 1,390 1,877 3,569 3,823 12,382

U.S. Marine Corps 110 93 134 175 172 684

(continued)

Page 27 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix III 

Reported Number of Relocations Authorized

by 97 Federal Organizations

Relocations authorized reported by fiscal year

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total relocations

authorized,

1991-1995

Defense Contract Audit Agency 96 213 134 119 113 675

Department of Education

Departmentwide information provided 18 9 18 16 16 77

Department of Health and Human Services

Agency for Health Care Policy & Research 10 8 8 5 3 34

Food & Drug Administration 89 207 174 233 158 861

Health Resources & Services Administration 4 3 5 3 8 23

National Institutes of Health 246 175 170 138 89 818

Office for Civil Rights 0 1 1 0 0 2

Office of General Counsel 0 1 0 0 0 1

Office of Inspector General 7 2 13 13 13 48

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services

Administration

UA UA 2 3 4 9

Administration for Children and Families 0 1 4 3 1 9

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Departmentwide information provided 30 29 50 55 323 487

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Indian Affairs UA 521 325 258 232 1,336

Bureau of Land Management 537 585 385 294 306 2,107

Bureau of Reclamation 332 281 241 166 176 1,196

Minerals Management Service 86 40 46 37 32 241

National Park Service 1,140 938 725 622 804 4,229

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and

Enforcement

26 33 10 5 48 122

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 557 681 469 463 498 2,668

U.S. Geological Survey 173 169 172 151 146 811

Offices of the Secretary, Solicitor, and

Inspector General

57 32 20 31 23 163

Department of Justice

Drug Enforcement Administration 978 525 289 400 780 2,972

Federal Bureau of Investigation 1,634 1,091 715 875 1,451 5,766

Federal Bureau of Prisons 1,589 1,815 1,383 1,966 2,077 8,830

Immigration and Naturalization Service 399 405 192 259 419 1,674

U.S. Attorneys Office 16 30 14 34 20 114

U.S. Marshals Service 80 97 118 53 66 414

Offices, Boards, and Divisions 41 55 67 39 47 249

Department of Labor

Departmentwide information provided 247 191 144 143 205 930

(continued)

Page 28 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix III 

Reported Number of Relocations Authorized

by 97 Federal Organizations

Relocations authorized reported by fiscal year

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total relocations

authorized,

1991-1995

Department of State

Departmentwide information provided 3,835 3,597 3,556 3,447 3,446 17,881

Department of Transportatio n

Federal Aviation Administration 2,296 1,841 1,678 1,041 1,546 8,402

Federal Highway Administration 249 242 271 235 310 1,307

Federal Railroad Administration UA UA UA UA 15 15

Federal Transit Administration 5 4 3 4 10 26

Maritime Administration 9 16 10 6 10 51

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

3 1 1 4 3 12

Office of Inspector General 0 1 1 0 4 6

Research and Special Programs

Administration

11 3 2 9 9 34

U.S. Coast Guard 75 94 141 34 107 451

Office of the Secretary UA UA 12 9 12 33

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms 178 177 167 124 135 781

Bureau of the Public Debt 33 45 71 33 5 187

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center 23 12 28 9 26 98

Financial Management Service 5 3 3 3 4 18

Internal Revenue Service UA UA 446 495 563 1,504

Office of Thrift Supervision 61 90 41 25 5 222

Office of the Comptroller of the Currencyb 221 189 257 193 191 1,051

U.S. Customs Service 841 401 429 493 622 2,786

U.S. Secret Service 350 233 268 229 249 1,329

Departmental Offices & Office of the

Inspector General

31 15 16 11 19 92

Department of Veterans Affairs

Departmentwide information provided UA UA UA 1,789 2,254 4,043

Environmental Protection Agency

Agencywide information provided 334 162 165 149 97 907

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Agencywide information provided 18 14 12 14 13 71

Federal Communications Commission

Agencywide information provided UA UA 12 5 9 26

(continued)

Page 29 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix III 

Reported Number of Relocations Authorized

by 97 Federal Organizations

Relocations authorized reported by fiscal year

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total relocations

authorized,

1991-1995

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Agencywide information provided 15 27 15 12 24 93

General Services Administration

Agencywide information provided 265 196 216 151 203 1,031

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Agencywide information provided 112 73 34 140 250 609

National Archives and Records Administration

Agencywide information provided 9 7 14 11 11 52

National Labor Relations Board

Agencywide information provided 11 12 14 9 8 54

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Agencywide information provided 202 153 137 137 108 737

Office of Personnel Management

Agencywide information provided 66 70 33 37 22 228

Panama Canal Commission

Agencywide information provided 138 92 106 78 143 557

Securities and Exchange Commission

Agencywide information provided 4 18 18 30 13 83

Small Business Administration

Agencywide information provided 43 39 120 53 48 303

Smithsonian Institution

Agencywide information provided 7 10 5 11 5 38

Social Security Administration

Agencywide information provided 634 549 489 420 546 2,638

Totals 26,424 25,568 22,946 26,700 31,199 132,837

UA: data were not available.

aFiscal year 1991 does not include data from Europe.

bInformation reported on a calendar-year basis.

Source: GAO Survey.

Page 30 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix IV 

Reported Number of Relocations Made by

23 Federal Organizations

Relocations made reported by fiscal year

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total relocations

made, 1991-1995

Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Service 99 237 126 106 196 764

Food and Consumer Service 5 5 4 4 5 23

Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards

Administration

15 12 4 8 30 69

Office of the Chief Financial Officer 0 0 0 0 0 0

Department of Commerce

International Trade Administration 72 83 70 91 129 445

National Telecommunications and

Information Administration

3 3 4 2 1 13

Office of Inspector General 1 0 1 5 2 9

Office of the Secretary 7 2 6 8 9 32

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administrationa

75 79 141 1,186 1,177 2,658

Department of Defense

Defense Investigative Service 33 69 72 76 95 345

Defense Logistics Agency 301 770 705 709 965 3,450

Department of the Armyb 1,172 4,001 3,768 3,316 3,752 16,009

Department of the Navy 1,139 973 1,023 1,418 1,385 5,938

Department of Energy

Departmentwide information providedc 1,007 626 426 592 706 3,357

Department of Health and Human Services

Administration on Aging 1 4 4 0 1 10

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 161 183 117 91 84 636

Health Care Financing Administration UA UA UA 8 43 51

Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs 0 0 0 3 4 7

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of Engraving and Printingd 46 6 3 10 4 69

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 7 8 3 8 1 27

U.S. Mint 7 6 4 7 6 30

Tennessee Valley Authority

Agencywide information provided 1,026 831 698 550 490 3,595

U.S. Information Agency

Agencywide information provided 545 567 582 526 495 2,715

Totals 5,722 8,465 7,761 8,724 9,580 40,252

(Table notes on next page)

Page 31 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix IV 

Reported Number of Relocations Made by

23 Federal Organizations

aNot all components of NOAA reported for each fiscal year, most notably, the National Weather

Service.

bAccording to an Army Official, relocations made reported for fiscal year 1991 are underreported.

cFiscal year 1992 data were not available from the Bonneville Power Administration.

dInformation reported on a calendar-year basis.

Source: GAO Survey.

Page 32 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix V 

Reported Relocation Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

Obligations reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

obligations,

1991-1995

Agency for International

Development

Agencywide

information provided

$14,880,700 $17,206,900 $16,764,100 $15,866,600 $17,491,800 $82,210,100

Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing

Service

2,843,264 3,104,626 2,290,333 2,784,278 2,684,144 13,706,645

Agricultural Research

Service

UA UA UA UA UA UA

Animal and Plant

Health Inspection

Service

1,074,719 2,627,601 2,980,571 4,163,891 5,552,773 16,399,555

Cooperative, State,

Research, Education

& Extension Service

289,364 122,750 139,488 97,606 79,479 728,687

Farm Service Agency 477,017 657,470 241,753 388,420 3,357,692 5,122,352

Forest Service 24,841,511 22,481,257 15,633,969 22,559,055 32,741,392 118,257,184

Grain Inspection,

Packers, and

Stockyards

Administration

117,708 297,630 172,177 261,983 996,168 1,845,667

National Agricultural

Statistics Service

1,590,621 1,390,281 861,769 1,401,541 585,958 5,830,170

Natural Resources

Conservation Service

12,388,532 13,721,337 9,976,237 12,533,729 15,305,558 63,925,393

Office of

Communications

0 0 0 64,484 0 64,484

Office of the Secretary 11,713 0 23,441 115,869 0 151,023

Risk Management

Agency

292,032 1,036,860 1,562,376 663,415 544,598 4,099,281

Rural Development 3,598,860 7,361,305 2,529,258 5,541,099 5,683,667 24,714,189

Departmental

Administration

13,000 19,000 0 57,000 3,821 92,821

Department of Commerce

Bureau of Economic

Analysis

0 0 0 0 0 0

Bureau of Export

Administration

UA UA 0 0 95,468 95,468

Bureau of the Census 441,595 283,745 191,712 251,540 266,561 1,435,153

International Trade

Administrationa,h,i

UA UA 1,107,058 1,447,075 2,161,546 4,715,679

(continued)

Page 33 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix V 

Reported Relocation Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

Obligations reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

obligations,

1991-1995

Minority Business

Development Agency

0 3,900 61,375 73,012 58,188 196,475

National Institute of

Standards and

Technology

87,386 158,339 248,332 322,224 414,727 1,231,008

National Oceanic and

Atmospheric

Administrationb,c

8,474,161 8,250,742 12,851,788 25,511,135 24,417,766 79,505,592

National Technical

Information Service

0 0 0 0 0 0

Patent and Trademark

Office

0 51,084 0 0 104,000 155,084

U.S. Travel and

Tourism Administration

UA UA UA UA UA UA

Department of Defense

Defense Education

Activity

16,219,615 15,099,697 18,387,406 18,447,089 15,657,847 83,811,654

Defense Information

Systems Agency

208,672 1,129,786 1,572,483 4,961,254 5,573,526 13,445,721

Defense Intelligence

Agency

724,332 1,257,517 1,133,212 1,388,008 1,637,677 6,140,746

Defense Logistics

Agency

9,204,197 16,797,271 14,049,671 17,374,796 22,497,544 79,923,479

Defense Mapping

Agency

2,394,000 4,381,000 4,783,000 6,312,000 2,834,000 20,704,000

Defense Special

Weapons Agency

35,778 143,226 70,801 330,805 70,318 650,928

Department of the Air

Force

15,000,000 12,700,000 16,300,000 17,400,000 17,300,000 78,700,000

Department of the

Army

93,109,617 67,100,100 58,201,348 52,186,743 69,904,556 340,502,364

Department of the

Navy

19,079,146 24,544,965 27,937,976 49,101,993 57,157,551 177,821,631

U.S. Marine Corpsd 1,062,844 1,303,849 2,459,715 3,134,411 2,648,156 10,608,975

Defense Contract

Audit Agency

4,713,900 5,354,700 6,473,400 5,897,500 4,493,300 26,932,800

Department of Education

Departmentwide

information provided

151,802 81,072 154,363 134,522 136,946 658,705

(continued)

Page 34 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix V 

Reported Relocation Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

Obligations reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

obligations,

1991-1995

Department of Health

and Human Services

Agency for Health

Care Policy &

Research

47,119 17,651 48,407 13,383 17,105 143,665

Food and Drug

Administration

2,063,750 998,502 1,767,400 1,892,600 2,362,555 9,084,807

Health Care Financing

Administratione

UA UA UA 18,231 1,415,396 1,433,627

Health Resources &

Services

Administration

38,866 24,093 59,087 38,292 136,908 297,246

National Institutes of

Health

1,116,623 1,022,278 711,518 514,066 936,055 4,300,540

Office of General

Counsel

0 4,849 0 0 0 4,849

Office of Inspector

General

140,986 56,522 633,842 639,412 444,700 1,915,462

Substance Abuse &

Mental Health

Services

Administration

UA UA 12,412 18,285 17,930 48,627

Administration for

Children and Families

0 12,296 31,920 16,629 2,239 63,084

Department of the Interior

Bureau of Indian

Affairs

UA 2,230,928 1,338,692 1,366,179 1,715,185 6,650,984

Bureau of Land

Management

12,912,516 16,108,420 9,462,566 9,832,325 11,697,123 60,012,950

Bureau of Reclamation 5,570,434 5,725,737 5,376,036 5,522,779 5,423,885 27,618,871

Minerals Management

Service

1,089,557 690,868 909,283 976,816 723,335 4,389,859

National Park Service 10,006,164 11,608,500 9,636,834 11,054,259 16,159,328 58,465,085

Office of Surface

Mining Reclamation

and Enforcement

404,788 638,849 292,002 130,510 2,360,570 3,826,719

U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service

5,820,068 7,356,146 6,209,137 7,043,096 10,207,711 36,636,158

U.S. Geological Survey 5,905,785 5,775,452 5,831,094 5,648,366 6,227,247 29,387,944

Offices of the

Secretary, Solicitor,

and Inspector General

1,117,062 607,032 220,911 714,116 392,583 3,051,704

(continued)

Page 35 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix V 

Reported Relocation Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

Obligations reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

obligations,

1991-1995

Department of Justice

Drug Enforcement

Administration

23,373,805 12,065,248 9,360,676 16,278,539 34,134,874 95,213,142

Federal Bureau of

Investigationc

UA 35,920,774 33,023,348 42,171,211 54,960,783 166,076,116

Federal Bureau of

Prisonsc

29,677,416 35,225,048 28,647,994 42,061,955 50,808,259 186,420,672

Immigration and

Naturalization Servicea

17,657,365 18,010,537 8,875,702 14,247,818 29,301,176 88,092,598

U.S. Attorneys Office UA UA UA UA UA UA

U.S. Marshals Service 2,327,456 3,646,272 3,212,322 2,857,180 4,130,329 16,173,559

Offices, Boards, and

Divisions

UA UA UA UA UA UA

Department of Labor

Departmentwide

information provided

4,424,000 2,115,000 1,095,000 2,224,000 5,003,000 14,861,000

Department of State

Departmentwide

information provided

73,370,000 77,874,000 78,944,000 80,162,000 76,697,000 387,047,000

Department of

Transportation

Federal Aviation

Administration

69,201,500 53,634,800 62,459,000 42,770,700 75,013,400 303,079,400

Federal Highway

Administration

6,523,678 5,651,968 3,845,827 4,944,720 9,477,082 30,443,275

Federal Railroad

Administration

UA UA UA UA 341,959 341,959

Federal Transit

Administration

74,449 10,848 23,759 56,721 236,574 402,351

Maritime

Administration

189,136 490,626 193,603 85,660 343,512 1,302,537

National Highway

Traffic Safety

Administration

200,000 200,000 120,000 60,000 88,000 668,000

Office of Inspector

General

0 100,000 125,000 0 375,000 600,000

Research and Special

Programs

Administration

168,603 19,864 71,199 215,507 134,174 609,347

U.S. Coast Guard 1,794,880 1,899,748 2,458,722 1,146,780 2,546,997 9,847,127

Office of the Secretary UA UA 167,883 117,380 683,440 968,703

(continued)

Page 36 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix V 

Reported Relocation Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

Obligations reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

obligations,

1991-1995

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, and Firearms

8,086,725 6,349,763 9,029,500 7,185,951 8,250,408 38,902,347

Bureau of the Public

Debt

867,268 1,056,405 1,638,600 769,765 155,496 4,487,534

Federal Law

Enforcement Training

Center

388,096 146,171 462,221 291,964 689,386 1,977,838

Financial Management

Service

57,357 18,018 3,782 1,584 69,263 150,004

Internal Revenue

Service

UA UA 10,372,382 19,564,381 28,786,821 58,723,584

U.S. Customs Servicec 24,068,132 12,340,786 9,409,167 16,437,270 24,019,410 86,274,765

U.S. Secret Service 12,132,240 8,481,179 11,260,651 9,882,275 12,161,615 53,917,960

Departmental Offices

& Office of the

Inspector General

675,400 422,985 477,749 371,829 569,184 2,517,147

Department of Veterans

Affairs

Departmentwide

information provided

UA UA UA 73,100,000 61,400,000 134,500,000

Environmental Protection

Agency

Agencywide

information provideda,c,f

1,101,175 892,171 1,277,443 951,446 3,338,709 7,560,944

Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission

Agencywide

information provided

470,292 341,699 191,267 657,233 389,406 2,049,897

Federal Communications

Commission

Agency wide

information provided

129,000 56,000 52,000 170,000 102,000 509,000

Federal Emergency

Management Agency

Agencywide

information provided

618,614 1,096,669 541,773 747,217 1,568,962 4,573,235

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Agencywide

information provided

5,109,562 4,289,356 3,731,891 9,030,162 16,909,715 39,070,686

(continued)

Page 37 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix V 

Reported Relocation Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

Obligations reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

obligations,

1991-1995

National Archives and

Records Administration

Agencywide

information provided

383,310 218,518 420,331 349,524 259,087 1,630,770

National Labor Relations

Board

Agencywide

information provided

395,089 460,974 376,221 249,344 351,279 1,832,907

Nuclear Regulatory

Commission

Agencywide

information provided

3,858,298 2,960,800 4,090,968 6,666,058 3,927,591 21,503,715

Office of Personnel

Management

Agencywide

information providedg

227,843 295,713 1,059,114 488,224 868,000 2,938,894

Panama Canal Commission

Agencywide

information provided

1,076,446 576,009 632,394 480,967 836,625 3,602,441

Securities and Exchange

Commission

Agencywide

information provided

27,160 219,707 301,779 1,017,847 366,019 1,932,512

Small Business Administration

Agencywide

information provided

400,177 932,608 3,029,417 1,764,923 1,816,681 7,943,806

Smithsonian Institution

Agencywide

information provided

17,238 29,215 31,369 39,971 10,620 128,413

Social Security

Administration

Agencywide

information provided

21,639,221 15,947,156 15,243,882 18,830,167 27,311,086 98,971,512

Totals $590,270,736 $585,542,767 $567,958,189 $734,660,693 $911,129,504 $3,389,561,890

Totals in constant

1995 dollars

$652,146,385 $629,460,206 $595,082,028 $752,155,838 $911,129,504

(Table notes on next page)

Page 38 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix V 

Reported Relocation Obligations by 97

Federal Organizations

UA: data were not available.

aObligations reported do not include nontemporary storage of household goods expenses.

bObligations reported for fiscal years 1994 and 1995 do not include enroute travel expense.

cObligations reported do not include overseas renewal agreement expenses.

dQuestionnaire was sent to multiple installations for completion but not all installations were able

to report obligations for all categories of expenses.

eObligations for fiscal year 1994 do not include regional data.

f

Obligations reported for fiscal years 1991 to 1995 do not include relocation service contract

expenses.

gObligations reported do not include miscellaneous moving expenses.

hObligations reported do not include transportation and storage of household goods, mobile

homes, and vehicle expenses.

Source: GAO Survey.

Page 39 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix VI 

Reported Relocation Expenditures by 23

Federal Organizations

Expenditures reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

expenditures,

1991-1995

Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and

Inspection Service

$3,621,939 $2,883,774 $2,158,881 $3,540,345 $3,014,143 $15,219,082

Food and Consumer

Service

8,324 97,197 29,487 6,954 25,967 167,928

Office of the Chief

Financial Officer

0 0 0 0 0 0

Office of the Inspector

General

600,000 700,000 200,000 300,000 1,000,000 2,800,000

Department of Commerce

National

Telecommunications

and Information

Administration

3,282 21,468 78,181 18,593 7,121 128,645

Office of Inspector

General

10,577 0 1,522 116,698 53,963 182,760

Office of the Secretary 29,099 8,284 53,114 18,806 37,389 146,692

Department of Defense

Defense Investigative

Service

446,885 879,106 990,896 783,536 939,099 4,039,522

Department of the

Navy

9,923,116 11,423,128 17,400,140 50,947,710 51,412,626 141,106,720

Department of Energy

Departmentwide

information provideda

13,812,583 12,736,493 11,883,077 10,687,990 16,361,763 65,481,906

Department of Health and

Human Services

Administration on

Aging

58,459 73,463 49,883 0 119 181,924

Centers for Disease

Control and

Preventionb

2,271,987 3,161,797 2,223,000 1,917,495 2,759,779 12,334,058

Office for Civil Rights 0 65,000 3,000 0 0 68,000

Department of Housing and

Urban Development

Departmentwide

information provided

216,719 233,838 286,581 290,666 1,140,807 2,168,611

Department of Justice

Office of Justice

Programs

0 0 0 27,467 7,568 35,035

(continued)

Page 40 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix VI 

Reported Relocation Expenditures by 23

Federal Organizations

Expenditures reported by fiscal year (nominal dollars)

Federal organizations 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Total

expenditures,

1991-1995

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of Engraving

and Printingc

1,194,999 202,142 153,415 387,622 133,345 2,071,523

Financial Crimes

Enforcement Network

272,137 276,589 217,825 239,578 4,769 1,010,898

Office of Thrift

Supervision

987,907 1,294,888 858,185 524,771 177,155 3,842,906

Office of the

Comptroller of the

Currencyc,d

4,638,186 4,080,547 4,555,478 3,861,699 7,327,103 24,463,013

U.S. Mint 63,888 96,563 115,139 247,853 156,982 680,425

General Services

Administration

Agencywide

information provided

3,639,425 3,698,062 4,423,124 3,238,745 3,888,537 18,887,893

Tennessee Valley Authority

Agencywide

information provided

4,673,791 4,108,055 4,121,114 3,476,021 4,010,770 20,389,751

U.S. Information Agency

Agencywide

information provided

8,669,392 9,521,375 10,095,494 9,186,153 9,943,983 47,416,397

Totals $55,142,695 $55,561,769 $59,897,536 $89,818,702 $102,402,988 $362,823,689

Totals in constant 1995

dollars

$60,923,076 $59,729,066 $62,758,048 $91,957,637 $102,402,988

aFiscal year 1992 data were not available from the Bonneville Power Administration.

bExpenditures reported do not include overseas renewal agreement expenses.

cInformation reported on a calendar-year basis.

dExpenditures reported do not include enroute travel expenses.

Source: GAO Survey.

Page 41 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
Appendix VII 

Major Contributors to This Report

General Government

Division, Washington,

D.C.

Gerald P. Barnes, Assistant Director

Maria Edelstein, Evaluator-in-Charge

Shirley Bates, Evaluator

Martin DeAlteriis, Social Science Analyst

Stuart Kaufman, Social Science Analyst

Hazel Bailey, Evaluator (Communications Analyst)

Office of General

Counsel, Washington,

D.C.

Robert Heitzman, Senior Attorney

(240209) Page 42 GAO/GGD-97-119 Government Relocation Travel
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