President Barack Obama
this week signed an executive order calling for federal agencies to reduce
spending, including travel costs, by 20 percent, or about $4 billion, according
to White House press secretary Jay Carney.
The order calls for
travel increasingly to "be limited to circumstances where the activity can
only be performed away from the employee's primary office," such as
inspections and diplomatic missions. Additionally, the order directs federal
employees to expand their use of remote conferencing to cut travel for meetings
and conferences, and for agencies conducting meetings to use federally
controlled conference center space whenever possible. All federal agencies will
have to appoint a senior-level employee to make these cuts.
Several agencies already
have cost-cutting plans in place. The Internal Revenue Service is on track to
cut its travel spending by 27 percent in fiscal year 2012, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is cutting its travel budget by $17 million. Both
agencies are reducing meetings travel as part of their efforts. The Department
of Energy also is reducing group travel and is pushing a nonrefundable air
ticket policy, which it projects will shave $15.7 million off travel costs next
year.
Besides travel, the order
also directs agencies to cut spending on employees' mobile devices, reduce use
of car services around Washington, end purchases of promotional
"swag" and to reduce printing of documents. Agencies are charged with
developing plans for the 20 percent overall cost reduction by the end of the
year.