[Ncep.list.grouptravel] Fwd: AMS Travelers Closeout

Fri Feb 3 18:47:58 UTC 2017

All,

Received some more guidance about the Thurs breakfast below.

NOAA Finance recommended that each travel voucher that does not deduct for
Thursday morning's breakfast have a note in the voucher explaining why the
meal was not deducted.

They point out you can include a statement if you attended an official
business meeting instead. I am still awaiting clarification on how to
handle the breakfast if a traveler's flight was in the morning.

Genene

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Robert Ransom - NOAA Federal <robert.ransom at noaa.gov>
Date: Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: [ACTION REQUIRED] AMS Travelers Closeout

All,

Several folks asked if they are required to reduce their M&IE allowance on
Thursday if they didn't attend the breakfast that was provided as a part of
the registration fee.  In some cases, these individuals couldn't attend due
to another required commitment. In this case, NOAA Finance offered the
following clarification:

*As long as they were conducting official business that prevented them from
attending the breakfast then they can receive full per diem. If they have
dietary or religious reasons, they are also entitled to full per diem.*

NOAA Finance also recommended that each of travel voucher that does not
deduct for Thursday morning's breakfast have a note in the voucher
explaining why the meal was not deducted. This will eliminate a lot of
questions down the road.

By way of background, I've attached a picture from AMS' published agenda
that identifies an "Exhibit Hall Breakfast." When the whole AMS
conference/group travel package was initially submitted up through DOC for
approval, a question was raised about why the M&IE allowance for Thursday
wasn't reduced because the Thursday morning breakfast was provided as a
part of our registration fee (much like the awards banquet dinner).  As a
result, the conference approval package was changed to reduce M&IE as
required by the Federal Travel Regulation that requires per diem to be
reduced <https://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/101518> if a meal, such as
Thursday's continental breakfast, is included as a part of the registration
fee.

Based on the feedback from DOC, and the fact that the NOAA Finance Office
has already identified the AMS conference as one they want to review our
actual cost claims, it is recommended that travel vouchers be clearly
documented if Thursday's M&IE allowance is not reduced.

On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:38 PM, Carla Wallace - NOAA Federal <
carla.wallace at noaa.gov> wrote:

> Group Travel POCs,
>
> Record actual costs:  Now that AMS travel is complete, please have your
> travelers record their ACTUAL travel expenses on the far right side of the Google
> sheet
> <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14kCPeFYjjEvRVcVhGt36CSaD5X_5gLrio4fI_PXa5lk/edit#gid=360683900>
> (columns highlighted in yellow).  Also, per NOAA policy, please be sure to
> retain a copy of the travel voucher including invoices from your travel
> card or purchase card per your office's document retention policy.  This
> information will be needed if NOAA or DOC elect to audit our actual costs.
>
> *THIS ACTION SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY COB FEBRUARY 6.*
>
>
> *---- PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE OFFICE OF THE
> CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ----*
>
>
> A few reminders regarding your travel:
>
>
>    -
>
>    Adjust M&IE allowance for travel days:  As required by the Federal
>    Travel Regulation, please ensure that the M&IE allowance for the first and
>    last days of your travel are set at 75% of the allowable M&IE.
>    -
>
>    Adjust M&IE allowance for meals:  A dinner will be served during the
>    AMS Awards Banquet that be held on Wednesday, January 25th.  Also, a
>    continental breakfast will be served on Thursday morning in the exhibit
>    hall.  Since the cost of these two meals is included in the registration
>    fee, the daily M&IE allowance for each day should be reduced as follows:
>    -
>
>       For the awards banquet dinner, each traveler’s M&IE should be
>       reduced by $34.00 for that day per instructions on the GSA M&IE website.
>       -
>
>       For the Thursday morning breakfast, M&IE should be reduced by
>       $17.00.
>       -
>
>    In Travel Manager, travel preparers should identify the GSA travel
>    code as "5-REPORTABLE CONFERENCE."
>    -
>
>    If you are an NWS employee, please ensure that "PF2" is identified as
>    the task code in the accounting string.
>    -
>
>    Travel cards (Individually Billed Accounts) are not exempt from
>    Washington State tax so there is no form to provide the hotel.  You will
>    need to include the state tax for lodging in your travel authorization.
>     https://smartpay.gsa.gov/content/state-tax-information
>    <https://smartpay.gsa.gov/content/state-tax-information>
>    -
>
>    Record actual costs:  Once your travel is complete, please note your
>    ACTUAL travel expenses on the far right side of the Google sheet
>    <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14kCPeFYjjEvRVcVhGt36CSaD5X_5gLrio4fI_PXa5lk/edit#gid=360683900>
>    (columns highlighted in yellow).  Also, per NOAA policy, please be sure to
>    retain a copy of the travel voucher including invoices from your travel
>    card or purchase card per your office's document retention policy.  This
>    information will be needed if NOAA or DOC elect to audit our actual costs.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
> Darone
>
>
>

-- 
Bob Ransom
Deputy Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer
National Weather Service <http://www.weather.gov/>
(301) 427-6914

-- 
Genene Fisher, PhD
Executive Officer
National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)
NOAA/NWS
301-683-1323 office
301-452-7366 cell
genene.fisher at noaa.gov
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.lstsrv.ncep.noaa.gov/pipermail/ncep.list.grouptravel/attachments/20170203/564ee111/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: AMS Breakfast.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 120759 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : https://www.lstsrv.ncep.noaa.gov/pipermail/ncep.list.grouptravel/attachments/20170203/564ee111/attachment-0001.jpg 