‘‘(e) The authority to conduct test programs under
this section shall expire 7 years after the date of enact-
ment of the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of
1997 1998.’’.
(b) RELOCATION EXPENSES TEST PROGRAMS.—Sub-
chapter II of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code,
is further amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
‘‘§ 5739. Authority for relocation expenses test pro-
grams
‘‘(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subchapter, under a test program which the Administrator
of General Services determines to be in the interest of the
Government and approves, an agency may pay through the
proper disbursing official for a period not to exceed 24
months any necessary relocation expenses in lieu of any
payment otherwise authorized or required under this sub-
chapter. An agency shall include in any request to the Ad-
ministrator for approval of such a test program an analy-
sis of the expected costs and benefits and a set of criteria
for evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
‘‘(2) Any test program conducted under this section
shall be designed to enhance cost savings or other effi-
ciencies that accrue to the Government.
‘‘(3) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the
authority of any agency to conduct test programs.
‘‘(b) The Administrator shall transmit a copy of any
test program approved by the Administrator under this
section to the appropriate committees of the Congress at
least 30 days before the effective date of the program.
‘‘(c) An agency authorized to conduct a test program
under subsection (a) shall provide to the Administrator
and the appropriate committees of the Congress a report
on the results of the program no later than 3 months after
completion of the program.
‘‘(d) No more than 10 test programs under this sec-
tion may be conducted simultaneously.
‘‘(e) The authority to conduct test programs under
this section shall expire 7 years after the date of enact-
ment of the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of
1997 1998.’’.
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections
for chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is further
amended by—
(1) inserting after the item relating to section
5709 the following new item:
‘‘5710. Authority for travel expenses test programs.’’;
and
(2) inserting after the item relating to section
5738 the following new item:
‘‘5739. Authority for relocation expenses test programs.’’.
SEC. 6. DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES.
Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amend-
ed—
(1) in section 5721—
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’
following the semicolon at the end;
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(6) ‘United States’ means the several States,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the territories and possessions of
the United States, and the areas and installations in
the Republic of Panama that are made available to
the United States pursuant to the Panama Canal
Treaty of 1977 and related agreements (as described
in section 3(a) of the Panama Canal Act of 1979);
and
‘‘(7) ‘Foreign Service of the United States’
means the Foreign Service as constituted under the
Foreign Service Act of 1980.’’;
(2) in section 5722—
(A) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘out-
side the United States’’ and inserting ‘‘outside
the continental United States’’; and
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘United
States’’ each place it appears and inserting
‘‘Government’’;
(3) in section 5723(b), by striking ‘‘United
States’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Govern-
ment’’;
(4) in section 5724—
(A) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘, its
territories or possessions’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘1979’’; and
(B) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘United
States’’ each place it appears in the last sen-
tence and inserting ‘‘Government’’;
(5) in section 5724a, by striking subsection (j);
(6) in section 5725(a), by striking ‘‘United
States’’ and inserting ‘‘Government’’;
(7) in section 5727(d), by striking ‘‘United
States’’ and inserting ‘‘continental United States’’;
(8) in section 5728(b), by striking ‘‘an em-
ployee of the United States’’ and inserting ‘‘an em-
ployee of the Government’’;
(9) in section 5729, by striking ‘‘or its terri-
tories or possessions’’ each place it appears;
(10) in section 5731(b), by striking ‘‘United
States’’ and inserting ‘‘Government’’; and
(11) in section 5732, by striking ‘‘United
States’’ and inserting ‘‘Government’’.
SEC. 7. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE FEDERAL EM-
PLOYEE TRAVEL REFORM ACT OF 1996.
Section 5724a of title 5, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsections (a) and (d) (1) and (2), by
striking ‘‘An agency shall pay’’ each place it appears
and inserting ‘‘Under regulations prescribed under
section 5738, an agency shall pay’’;
(2) in subsections (b)(1), (c)(1), (d)(8), and (e),
by striking ‘‘An agency may pay’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘Under regulations prescribed
under section 5738, an agency may pay’’;
(3) by amending subsection (b)(1)(B)(ii) to
read as follows:
‘‘(ii) an amount for subsistence expenses,
that may not exceed a maximum amount deter-
mined by the Administrator of General Serv-
ices.’’;
(4) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘an
amount for subsistence expenses’’ and inserting ‘‘an
amount for subsistence expenses, that may not ex-
ceed a maximum amount determined by the Admin-
istrator of General Services,’’;
(5) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘for the
sale’’ and inserting ‘‘of the sale’’;
(6) in subsection (d)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘for the
purchase’’ and inserting ‘‘of the purchase’’;
(7) in subsection (d)(8), by striking ‘‘paragraph
(2) or (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) or (2)’’;
(8) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ‘‘Subject to
paragraph (2),’’ and inserting ‘‘Under regulations
prescribed under section 5738 and subject to para-
graph (2),’’; and
(9) by striking subsection (i).
Passed the House of Representatives April 16, 1997.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE, Clerk.
Calendar No. 533
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 930
[Report No. 105–295]
AN ACT
To require Federal employees to use Federal travel
charge cards for all payments of expenses of offi-
cial Government travel, to amend title 31, United
States Code, to establish requirements for pre-
payment audits of Federal agency transportation
expenses, to authorize reimbursement of Federal
agency employees for taxes incurred on travel or
transportation reimbursements, and to authorize
test programs for the payment of Federal em-
ployee travel expenses and relocation expenses.
AUGUST 25, 1998
Reported with amendments