Kilmer, Jones Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Stop Policy that Lowers Compensation for Defense Workers
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Walter Jones (NC-03) introduced bipartisan legislation to stop a policy that lowers compensation for federal employees and active-duty servicemembers who travel for work. Last fall, the Department of Defense (DOD) enacted a proposal that passed the burden of finding affordable lodging while on assignment onto the individual employee rather than the department or service.
The members’ bill would prohibit reducing the rate of per diem for military members and civilian employees based on the duration of work or duty travel. Recently, the Department of Defense (DOD) altered the per diem allowance for long-term temporary duty (TDY) workers. DOD reduced per diem allowances 25 percent for TDY periods longer than 30 days and 45 percent for those lasting longer than 180 days.
“The Pentagon should not put the biggest burden of spending cuts on the backs of workers,” said Kilmer. “We need to ensure that workers and servicemembers can find decent lodging while traveling to support military missions. Our bipartisan legislation would ensure that we can lighten the load on these men and women operating on behalf of our military.”
“AFGE thanks Representative Kilmer and Representative Jones for introducing legislation which would stop DoD from reducing per diem rates and cause undue hardship on civilian employees who travel for months at a time,” said J. David Cox, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees. “These employees who are required to regularly travel for extended periods should not be unfairly burdened with the consequences of having to find lodging and meals well below nationally established per diem rates. These DoD civilian employees travel around the world and work to support our nation’s military readiness. It is unreasonable to reduce their per diem allowance and leave them to pay out of their personal pockets for work related travel expenses.”
“Today’s legislation is sorely needed after the Department of Defense unilaterally plowed ahead with implementing a $22.5 million per-year financial burden on the workers who support our military,” said William R. Dougan, National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees. “We applaud Representatives Kilmer and Jones, as well as our allies on Capitol Hill that support this legislation and who agree that civilian Defense employees have endured enough. Enduring years of pay freezes, pension cuts and furloughs is bad enough, but these cuts to reimbursements are going to have a significant negative impact on employee morale.”
Last October Kilmer, Jones, and other members sent a letter to the Department of Defense noting that in 2013 the General Services Administration (GSA) froze per diem rates and made it harder for federal workers on required travel to find lodging. The GSA’s Government-Wide Travel Advisory Committee also found that the prior lodging per diem calculation methodology was data-driven, accountable, and transparent.
The legislation is supported by a variety of labor and business travel groups including: the U.S. Travel Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, American Federation of Government Employees, Federal Managers Association, National Federation of Federal Employees, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Laborers’ International Union of North America, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, National Association of Government Employees, Metal Trades Department, Association of Civilian Technicians, International Organization of Masters, Mates, & Pilots, SPORT Air Traffic Controllers Organization, Heat & Frost Local 62, Boilermakers Local 290, Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 66, Bremerton Metal Trades Council, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 286.
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