GAO Cites Federal Workers For Abusing Business Class Perks

Federal employees wasted about $146 million in taxpayer dollars in one year by inappropriately upgrading coach-class travel to business class, a Government Accountability Office investigation found.

GAO cited a "weak control environment" that contributed to 67 percent of premium class travel being improperly authorized, including cases in which senior officials had subordinates sign off, which GAO described as tantamount to self-approval.

"The abuse of business class travel is particularly troubling, as it usually costs more than five times the price of coach class travel," said Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who ordered the investigation. Coleman is the senior Republican on the permanent subcommittee on investigations.

Federal officials generally are allowed to fly business class only if their flights will last for more than 14 hours. There are exceptions for medical reasons and security needs.

The report cites specific examples, including a senior official at the Foreign Agricultural Service who took 10 premium class trips to Europe from Washington, D.C., all approved by a subordinate. A Defense Department official claiming a medical condition took 15 premium flights, although the excuse was provided by another department official who cited a six-year-old surgery.

The report cited one example where a family of eight flew business class to Eastern Europe as part of a State Department transfer. The $46,000 bill should have been $12,000, the GAO said.

The report showed a wide range of premium travel. Only about 3 percent of 6,600 Department of Homeland Security flights to Europe, Africa, or the Middle East were first class or business class tickets. By comparison, 83 percent of 540 trips by officials at the Millennium Challenge Corp., a quasigovernmental corporation that steers foreign aid, were premium fares.