Management Assistance Report: United States Agency for Global Media Travel Card Policy Is Not in Compliance With Federal Travel Regulations

The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 41 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Chapters 300– 304, implements statutory requirements and Executive branch policies for travel by Federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at Government expense.1 The FTR states that all Government employees are required to use Government contractor-issued travel charge cards to pay for all official travel expenses, unless exempted.2 The FTR was modified in September 2016, removing some exemptions. During a mandated risk assessment of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) credit card programs, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) obtained and reviewed a copy of USAGM’s travel policy. This policy was issued in 2015, before the 2016 modifications of the FTR’s exemptions for the use of Government contractor-issued travel charge cards. Therefore, the exemptions allowed by USAGM’s Travel Charge Cardholder Policy for the use of travel charge cards do not reflect current FTR requirements. OIG made one recommendation to address the deficiency identified in this report. In response to a draft of this report, USAGM concurred with the recommendation. On the basis of USAGM’s concurrence, OIG considers the recommendation resolved, pending further action. A synopsis of USAGM’s response to the recommendation offered and OIG’s reply follow the recommendation in the Results section of this report. USAGM’s response to a draft of this report is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix A.