Takai Provides $56 Million to Reverse Per Diem Reductions

Statement

Today, Congressman Mark Takai passed an amendment to reverse harmful per diem cuts that the Department of Defense implemented as part of an ill-advised strategy to find cost savings. Takai passed the same amendment in last year's bill, though it was not carried in the Senate version. Takai's latest amendment provided $56 million to reverse the cuts.

"Over the past year, I have heard from countless constituents, businesses, and our military and civilian defense personnel how harmful this reduction in per diem funding has been. Though the Department has contended that the policy has not negatively affected its operations, we have heard differently," Takai said. "Long-term travel for our defense and military personnel is not a perk, and often times is mandatory and imperative to our nation's security. I hope that we have put this policy to bed for good," Takai added.

On November 1, 2014, the Department of Defense instituted reduced per diem rates for its civilian employees and members of the military who travel for longer than 30 days for work. The policy created a three-tier rate structure to compensate the workforce for official travel. Last year, the policy was reversed fully, though it was not carried in the final conference report. Takai's amendment today was cosponsored by a broad swath of committee members.

"No one should be forced to pay out of their own pocket to serve our country, and this policy from the Department has viciously eroded the morale of our national security workforce. Let's find efficiencies where we can, and stop trying to balance our books on the backs or our workforce." Takai concluded.

"Not only does the DOD's JTR policy unfairly penalize the military and civilian employees who have already been asked to spend a significant amount of time away from their homes and families, it is also counterproductive to military readiness and actually ends up costing more than the purported savings claimed by DOD. For example, on January 19th NAVSEA Commander, Adm. William Hilarides wrote to DOD that the JTR cuts were, "jeopardizing the successful execution of off-station availabilities and costing the Navy more than the intended savings.' This policy is also opposed by the travel industry and federal management groups. IFPTE fully supports the Takai amendment to reverse the Pentagon's unilaterally created and implemented employee and military per diem and lodging cuts policy," said International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers President Greg Junemann.

"On behalf of the U.S. hotel industry, and particularly the many hotels that cater to military bases and communities, we commend Congressman Mark Takai on his steadfast leadership in seeking to put an end to these ill-conceived cuts to travel per diem rates for Defense Department personnel," said American Hotel & Lodging Association's Vice President of Government Affairs Craig Kalkut. "These cuts have made it challenging for hotels to provide appropriate levels of service to military travelers, caused hardships to workers, and in certain cases, actually increased costs to the military while jeopardizing its ability to adequately perform critical functions."

"The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) thanks Representative Takai for leading the charge on the House Armed Services Committee's inclusion of language in the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that would stop reduced per diem rates for military and civilian DOD employees who travel for extended periods of time," said AFGE President J.David Cox. "Prohibiting the Department of Defense (DOD) from reducing employees' per diem allowance will ensure that DOD employees will not have to choose between taking care of their financial responsibilities back at home and having enough money to stay fed while traveling for months at a time. When these DOD employees are traveling they are working to support the women and men of our military and should not have to personally pay for official travel expenses. DOD per diem rates for extended travel should not be reduced below the nationally established rates."

Takai's amendment was supported by a broad coalition of labor unions and travel industry associations.

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