Improving the Management and Use of Government Aircraft, 76385-76392 [2016-26464]
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proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
• Evaluate whether, and if so, how,
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected can be
enhanced; and/or;
• Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Overview of this Information Cl:
1. Type of information collection:
New information collection.
2. The title of the form/collection:
Assessing the Potential Monetized
Benefits of Captioning Web Content for
Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing.
3. The agency form number, if any,
and the applicable component of the
Department sponsoring the collection:
Form Number: None.
Component: The applicable
component within the Department of
Justice is the Disability Rights Section
(DRS) in the Civil Rights Division.
4. Affected public who will be asked
or required to respond, as well as a brief
abstract:
Affected Public (Primary): Individuals
who are deaf or hard of hearing will be
asked to respond.
Affected Public (Other): None.
Abstract: DOJ’s Civil Rights Division,
Disability Rights Section (DRS) is
requesting PRA approval of a new
collection that would request
information about the perceived
monetary value of captioning on Web
sites from individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing for the purpose of
estimating the potential monetized
benefits of captioning audio and video
content on the Web. DRS is not
suggesting that people with disabilities
should be asked to pay for captioning;
rather, it intends to ask individuals
about the theoretical monetary value
that they place on the captioning of
audio and video Web content in order
to estimate how highly they value
captioning. The collection will also
request additional information about
how frequently individuals who are
deaf or hard of hearing access audio
content on Web sites, what type of
audio content they access, how often
this content is not captioned, how much
additional time (if any) they spend
trying to access content or information
when the content is not captioned, and
whether lack of captioning makes using
the Internet more difficult. This
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information will enhance DRS’s ability
to monetize the benefits of any
captioning requirements imposed by
future rulemaking under the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) for
individuals who are deaf or hard of
hearing.
5. An estimate of the total number of
respondents and the amount of time
estimated for an average respondent to
respond: An estimated 1,070
respondents will complete the
questions. It is estimated that an average
of 10 minutes per respondent is needed
to complete the questions. DRS
estimates that nearly all of the
approximately 1,070 respondents will
fully complete the questions.
6. An estimate of the total public
burden (in hours) associated with the
collection: The estimated public burden
associated with this collection is 178
hours. It is estimated that respondents
will take an average of 10 minutes (1⁄6
of an hour) to complete the questions.
The burden hours for collecting
respondent data sum to 178.33 hours
(1,070 respondents × 1⁄6 hours = 178 and
1⁄3 hours).
If additional information is required
contact: Jerri Murray, Department
Clearance Officer, United States
Department of Justice, Justice
Management Division, Policy and
Planning Staff, Two Constitution
Square, 145 N Street NE., 3E.405B,
Washington, DC 20530.
Dated: October 27, 2016.
Jerri Murray,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S.
Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2016–26400 Filed 11–1–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410–13–P
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Improving the Management and Use of
Government Aircraft
Office of Federal Procurement
Policy, Office of Management and
Budget
ACTION: Proposed Revision to Office of
Management and Budget Circular No.
A–126, ‘‘Improving the Management
and Use of Government Aircraft.’’
AGENCY:
The Office of Federal
Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) is
proposing to revise OMB Circular A–
126 ‘‘Improving the Management and
Use of Government Aircraft’’ to update
policies associated with the
management and use of Government
SUMMARY:
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76385
aircraft, including General Services
Administration (GSA) and agency roles
in regulating and managing the Federal
aviation programs that have evolved
since the Circular was last revised in
1992. The proposed changes also
address recommendations from the
Interagency Committee for Aviation
Policy (ICAP) to make a clearer
distinction between polices that apply
to the management of aircraft and
policies that apply to travel on
Government aircraft.
DATES: Interested parties should submit
comments in writing to the address
below on or before 30 days after
publication in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be
submitted online at
www.regulations.gov.
Instructions: All comments received
will be posted, without change or
redaction, to www.regulations.gov, so
commenters should not include
information that they do not wish to be
posted (for example because they
consider it personal or business
confidential).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim
Wade, OFPP, jwade@omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Overview
Federal agencies own more than 1,200
operational aircraft to support a wide
range of missions, including firefighting, law enforcement, research and
development, and other activities.
Federal aircraft are also used in various
situations to transport certain
executives. OMB Circular A–126 sets
forth requirements to help ensure the
appropriate agency use of Government
aircraft.
Traditionally, the Circular has
focused primarily on travel policy.
When the Circular was last updated in
1992, coverage was strengthened to
restrict the operation of aircraft to
defined official purposes, restrict travel
on such aircraft, require special review
of such travel by senior officials or nonFederal travelers, and codify policies for
reimbursement. The proposed revisions
to A–126 would retain these policies but
make several refinements to address
recommendations made by the
Government Accountability Office
(GAO) in a 2014 report (GAO–14–151)
recommending clarification on reporting
exemptions for the Intelligence
Community. Currently, the Circular
exempts the reporting of classified trips,
but the reporting of unclassified data is
not explicitly addressed. To resolve this
ambiguity, the proposed revisions to the
Circular would include a clear
statement that the Intelligence
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Community must maintain information
on trips by senior Federal officials and
non-Federal travelers, but agencies
included in the community would not
be required to report the data to the
General Services Administration (GSA).
Similarly, other agencies must maintain
information on the required use of
Government aircraft, but they are not
required to report the data to GSA.
Other proposed revisions would
clarify the requirements for contractors
traveling on Government aircraft and
expand the guidance for determining
whether Government aircraft is the most
cost-effective alternative for meeting
travel requirements.
Further revisions are proposed to
enhance the Circular’s coverage on
aircraft management. These changes are
designed to integrate a number of
policies and practices that have been
developed or refined since the Circular
was last updated that strengthen
investment and management practices
associated with capital assets. For
example, the Circular adds references to
long-standing requirements in OMB
Circular A–11 to prepare a business case
that justifies the acquisition and
operation of a capital asset; requires
agencies to maintain an office dedicated
to aircraft management; establishes
flight program standards and
performance indicators; and encourages
the use of the Exchange/Sale program
for replacing and disposing of aircraft.
Other changes include broadening the
definition of Government aircraft to
include unmanned aircraft systems and
the addition of definitions of
Commercial Aviation Services (CAS),
fixed costs, variable costs, performance
indicator, and Senior Aviation
Management Official (SAMO). Finally,
for clarification and ease of use, the
Circular is reorganized into separate
parts for management, travel, and cost
accounting.
OMB requests comments on these
proposals as well as on other aspects of
the Circular.
Lesley A. Field,
Acting Administrator for Federal
Procurement Policy.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
To the Heads of Executive Departments
and Establishments
Subject: Improving the Management
and Use of Government Aircraft
1. Purpose. This Circular is issued to
minimize cost and improve the
management, safety and efficiency of
Government aviation activities. It
prescribes policies to be followed by
Executive Agencies in acquiring,
managing, using, disposing of, and
accounting for costs of aircraft.
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2. Supersession Information. This
Circular rescinds and supersedes OMB
Circular No. A–126, Improving the
Management and Use of Government
Aircraft, dated May 22, 1992.
3. Authority. This Circular is issued
pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 1121 and 31
U.S.C. 1344.
4. Overview. In general, Governmentwide policy guidance for use of
Government aircraft restricts the
operation to official purposes, i.e.,
mission requirements, required-use, and
other official travel; restricts travel on
such aircraft; requires special review of
such travel by senior officials or NonFederal Travelers; and codifies policies
for reimbursement. This Circular is
being revised to respond to
recommendations from the Federal
aviation community that OMB’s
aviation guidance make a clearer
distinction between policies that apply
to the management of Government
aircraft and policies that apply to travel
on Government aircraft. This revision
also formalizes General Services
Administration (GSA) and agency roles
in regulating and managing the Federal
aviation programs that have evolved
since the Circular was last revised in
1992.
This Circular applies to all Executive
Agencies and to all Government aircraft
except for aircraft used by or in support
of the President or Vice President.
5. Definitions. For purposes of this
Circular, the following definitions
apply.
a. Acquire means to procure or
otherwise obtain personal property,
including by lease or rent (FMR 102–
33.20).
b. Aircraft means any contrivance
invented, used, or designed to navigate,
or fly in, the air (49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(6)).
c. Commercial Aviation Services
(CAS) include aircraft that are leased,
lease-purchased, rented, chartered,
hired under full service contracts, or
hired under inter-service support
agreements, and related support
services.
d. Crew Member means a person
assigned to perform duty in an aircraft
during flight time (14 CFR part 1.1).
e. Federal Traveler means a person
who travels as a Passenger, a Crew
Member, or a Qualified Non-Crew
Member, on a Government aircraft and
who is either (1) a civilian employee of
an Executive Agency including
invitational travelers per 5 U.S.C. 5703;
(2) a member of a uniformed or a foreign
service of the United States
Government; or (3) a contractor working
under a contract with an Executive
Agency.
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f. Fixed Costs of operating aircraft are
those that result from owning and
supporting the aircraft and that do not
vary according to aircraft usage. The
specific fixed cost elements are defined
in GSA’s Aircraft Cost Accounting
Guide and include, but are not limited
to: Crew, maintenance, labor, parts,
contracts, lease costs, operations
overhead, administrative overhead, selfinsurance costs, and depreciation.
g. Full Coach Fare means city pairs
capacity-controlled fare. In the absence
of availability of capacity-controlled city
pairs, it is a city pairs unrestricted coach
fare. If no city pair fare is available for
that route, full coach fare is the lowest
available coach fare available to the
general public from any source between
the day that the travel was planned and
the day the travel occurred.
h. Government Aircraft means
manned or unmanned aircraft operated
for the exclusive use of an Executive
Agency. Government aircraft include (1)
Federal aircraft as defined in FMR 102–
33.20; and (2) Aircraft hired as
commercial aviation services (CAS).
i. Governmental Function means an
activity undertaken by a government,
such as national defense, intelligence
missions, firefighting, search and
rescue, law enforcement (including
transport of prisoners, detainees, and
illegal aliens), aeronautical research, or
biological or geological resource
management, which is a partial
qualification for a Public Aircraft
Operation as defined in 49 U.S.C.
40125.
j. Mission Requirements mean
activities that constitute the discharge of
an agency’s Governmental functions.
Such activities include, but are not
limited to, the transport of troops and/
or equipment, training related to the
operation of or duties on board the
aircraft, evacuation (including medical
evacuation), intelligence and counternarcotics activities, search and rescue,
transportation of prisoners, use of
´
defense attache-controlled aircraft,
aeronautical research and space and
science applications, and other such
activities. For purposes of this Circular,
mission requirements do not include
official travel to give speeches, to attend
conferences or meetings, to make
routine site visits, or to attend training
not related to the operation of the
aircraft.
k. Non-Federal Traveler means an
individual who travels on a Government
aircraft, but is not a Federal traveler.
Dependents and other family members
of Federal travelers who travel on
Government aircraft are considered to
be Non-Federal Travelers within this
Circular.
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l. Official Travel means (1) travel to
meet mission requirements, (2)
required-use travel, and (3) other travel
to conduct non-mission agency
business, either departure and return
from one location, or between locations.
m. Passenger means a traveler who is
not a Crew Member or a Qualified NonCrew Member.
n. Performance Indicator means a
numerical or qualitative term or value
for reporting organizational activities
and results, generally with respect to
achieving specific goals related to
outcomes, outputs, efficiency, and
inputs. When applied to aircraft,
performance indicators typically
measure the effectiveness and efficiency
of the processes involved with safely
delivering aircraft services. Examples
are Operations Scheduling
Effectiveness; Aircraft Availability
Rates; Non-Availability Rates; Mission
Capable and Non-mission Rates; Nonairworthy Maintenance Rates; and Nonairworthy Supply Rates.
o. Public Aircraft Operation means
the same as the term defined in 49
U.S.C. 40102 and 49 U.S.C. 40125.
p. Qualified Non-Crew Member means
an individual, other than a member of
the crew, aboard an aircraft (1) operated
by the armed forces or an intelligence
agency of the United States
Government; or (2) whose presence is
required to perform, or is associated
with the performance of, a governmental
function (49 U.S.C. 40125).
q. Required-Use means use of a
Government aircraft for the travel of an
Executive Agency officer or employee,
where the use of the Government
aircraft is required because of bona fide
communications or security needs of the
agency or exceptional scheduling
requirements.
r. Senior Aviation Management
Official (SAMO) means the person in an
Executive Agency who is the agency’s
primary member of the Interagency
Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP).
This person must be of appropriate
grade and position to represent the
agency and promote flight safety and
adherence to standards.
s. Senior Federal Officials are
individuals who are paid according to
the Executive Schedule, including
Presidential appointees who are
confirmed by the Senate; employed in
the U.S. Government’s Senior Executive
Service or an equivalent senior service;
who is a civilian employee of the
Executive Office of the President; who
is appointed by the President to a
position under section 105(a)(2)(A), (B),
or (C) of title 3 U.S.C. or by the Vice
President to a position under section
106(a)(1)(A), (B), or (C) of title 3 U.S.C.;
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or a contractor working under a contract
with an Executive Agency who is paid
at a rate equal to or more than the
minimum rate for the Senior Executive
Service, and has senior executive
responsibilities. The term Senior
Federal Official does not mean an active
duty military officer.
t. Transportation means, for the
purpose of this Circular, the act of
moving personnel or passengers
engaged in travel onboard a Government
aircraft.
u. Travel, for purposes of reporting
Senior Federal Travel, means on or in
an aircraft while it is in flight. The
origin and the destination may be
different or the same. An example of the
origin and the destination being the
same is when the aircraft was used for
observation from the air, i.e., for storm
evaluation.
v. Variable costs are the costs of
operating aircraft that vary depending
on how much the aircraft are used. The
specific variable cost elements are
defined in GSA’s Aircraft Cost
Accounting Guide and include, but are
not limited to: crew costs; maintenance
costs, labor, parts and contracts; engine
overhaul; aircraft refurbishment; major
component repairs; fuel, oxidants, and
lubricants; lease costs and flight
support.
6. Policy.
a. Managing Government Aircraft
i. Acquiring Government Aircraft
1. Executive Agencies must be
authorized to acquire aircraft in
accordance with 31 U.S.C. 1343.
2. An Executive Agency may not
acquire more, larger, or more capable
aircraft than it needs to carry out its
official Government business.
3. Executive Agencies must choose
the most cost-effective alternatives for
acquiring aircraft and CAS. Aircraft
selection should be based on need, a
strong business case, and life-cycle cost
analyses, which conform to the
requirements in OMB Circular A–11,
Preparation, Submission and Execution
of the Budget, and its supplement, the
Capital Programming Guide. Where
performance of work by Federal
employees may be involved, such as for
aircraft maintenance, agencies shall also
consider any other applicable policies
used to compare the cost of Government
and contractor performance.
ii. Operating Government Aircraft
1. Executive Agencies that operate
Government aircraft (i.e., both owned
and hired aircraft) must:
a. Use them only for official purposes,
i.e., mission requirements, required-use,
and other official travel.
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b. Use them in the most operationally
efficient and effective manner to
accomplish these purposes.
c. Document all uses of such aircraft
and retain that documentation for at
least two years. At a minimum, the
documentation of each use of
Government aircraft must include:
i. The tail number of the aircraft;
ii. The date(s) used;
iii. The name(s) of the crew members
and qualified non-crew members;
iv. The purpose(s) of the flight;
v. The cost(s) of flights conducted on
Government aircraft used for political
activities or required-use travel as
identified in section 6.b.iii that require
reimbursement. Cost(s) of flights for
Senior Federal Officials and NonFederal Travelers are also required for
potential reporting to GSA;
vi. The route(s) flown and flight time;
and
vii. The name(s) of all passengers, and
an indication if any passenger is either
a Senior Federal Official or a NonFederal Traveler.
d. Unless otherwise exempt from
reporting in accordance with FMR 102–
33, provide any information requested
by GSA on a routine or ad hoc basis on
their aircraft inventory, costs, and
utilization (flight hours).
2. Executive Agencies that only hire
aircraft occasionally for specific flights,
must either:
a. Establish an aviation program that
complies with the requirements in
paragraph 3 of this section (i.e., a
‘‘policy-compliant aviation program’’),
or
b. Hire those aircraft through an
agency with a policy-compliant aviation
program to assure that safety and other
critical aviation program requirements
are satisfied.
3. Executive Agencies or their
components that own and/or operate
aircraft, except agencies that only hire
aircraft occasionally for specific flights,
must:
a. Designate a Senior Aviation
Management Official (SAMO) to serve
as the primary member of the GSA
Interagency Committee for Aviation
Policy (ICAP) and provide an alternate
for the primary member.
b. Maintain an office to carry out the
agency’s aircraft management
responsibilities.
c. Periodically review the continuing
need for each of their aircraft and the
cost-effectiveness of their aircraft
operations as directed by OMB Circular
A–11 as well as other applicable
policies used to compare the cost of
Government and contractor
performance.
d. Develop performance indicators
that measure the impact on mission
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accomplishment contributed by the
aviation program and provide a tool for
measuring the impact of future aviation
program investments. Such information
will be utilized in supporting budget
requests and periodic agency reviews of
the effectiveness of the aviation
program’s performance.
e. Comply with the internal control
requirements of OMB Circular A–123
and assure that the appropriate internal
controls for aviation management are
included in the agency’s Management
Control Plan. Any material weaknesses
in aviation programs are to be reported
in the annual internal control reports to
the President and the Congress.
f. Establish and enforce agencyspecific flight program standards that
include, but are not limited to, the
following topics:
i. Management/administration
ii. Acquisition and disposal
iii. Operations
iv. Maintenance
v. Training
vi. Safety
g. Ensure that their flight program
standards comply with all statutes
required to qualify for Public Aircraft
Operations status including 49 U.S.C.
40102(a)(41) and 49 U.S.C. 40125 and
regulations that apply to Federal
aviation activities, including GSA
regulations and applicable Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
regulations. Also—
i. When using a Government aircraft
to transport a Passenger or to transport
Passengers or property for compensation
or hire, the activity would not qualify as
a Public Aircraft Operation, and the
Executive Agency flight program
standards must comply with the
applicable FAA regulations for civil
aircraft;
ii. When using Government aircraft to
perform a Governmental Function, in
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 40125, the
Executive Agency flight program need
only comply with agency-specific safety
standards and with the applicable FAA
regulations for all aircraft operating
within the National Airspace System
and not the safety standards and FAA
regulations that apply only to civil
aircraft (reference Pub.L. 85–726,
Federal Aviation Act of 1958).
h. Use automated aircraft management
information systems that comply with
data standards and reporting
requirements prescribed by GSA, as
well as with the agency’s internal
information requirements, to:
i. Accumulate costs into the standard
aircraft program cost elements
prescribed in GSA regulations. The uses
of these cost elements for various
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purposes are discussed in section 6.c
Accounting for Aircraft Costs.
ii. Unless otherwise exempt from
reporting in accordance with FMR 102–
33, accumulate and report to GSA
information on their Government
aircraft inventory, costs, and utilization
according to GSA’s guidance.
iii. Accumulate data to support
aviation performance indicators that
measure the effectiveness of their
operations, maintenance and logistics
programs and the impact of the aviation
program on mission performance.
i. Develop agency specific fleet
management and modernization plans
to optimize the use of Government
aircraft through:
i. Sharing common aircraft,
transferring, or disposing of
underutilized aircraft;
ii. Reducing excessive aircraft
operations and maintenance costs; and
iii. Disposing of aircraft that are no
longer cost effective or no longer meet
agency needs and acquiring replacement
aircraft.
iii. Providing Government Aircraft
Services to Other Activities
1. In general, agencies that own or
operate aircraft are authorized in statute
to use those aircraft to serve specific
missions and/or agency components
and are funded in appropriations acts to
provide those services.
2. In a few cases, one agency may be
authorized to provide aviation services
to another agency without requiring
reimbursement for those services, e.g.,
the FAA is authorized to provide
aviation support to the National
Transportation Safety Board.
3. In most cases, however, servicing
agencies that provide aviation services
to requesting agencies under the
Economy Act (31 U.S. Code 1535) are
required to recover the actual costs from
those entities receiving the service. This
is typically handled as an Interagency
Acquisition under the Economy Act.
iv. Replacing and Disposing of
Government Aircraft
Agencies that want to replace aircraft
are encouraged to use the Exchange/Sale
Authority to do so. Under this authority,
agencies are permitted to exchange or
sell aircraft or aircraft parts that need to
be replaced and apply the Exchange
allowance or the Sale proceeds to the
cost of the replacement aircraft or
aircraft parts. Agencies that determine
that their aircraft or aircraft parts are
excess property and do not need
replacement property may dispose of
the aircraft or aircraft parts via donation,
transfer, or sale. Guidance for using the
Exchange/Sale Authority to replace
aircraft or aircraft parts or for disposing
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of excess property is provided in
regulations issued by the GSA.
b. Traveling on Government Aircraft
i. Who May Travel on Government
Aircraft
Federal travelers who, for purposes of
this Circular, include contractors
traveling on official agency business,
invitational travelers, Non-Federal
Travelers and any other passengers,
crewmembers, and qualified noncrewmembers may travel on
Government aircraft, but only if they
have authorization from an Executive
Agency to do so.
ii. Approving Travel on Government
Aircraft
1. Who may approve travel on
Government Aircraft. All travel on
Government aircraft must be authorized
by the agency sponsoring the travel in
accordance with its travel policies and
this Circular and, when applicable,
documented on an official travel
authorization. Where possible, such
travel must be approved by at least one
organizational level above the person(s)
traveling (i.e., passengers,
crewmembers, or qualified noncrewmembers) in advance and in
writing. If review by a higher
organizational level is not possible, or
not applicable as in the case of nonFederal or invitational travelers, another
appropriate approval is required. In an
emergency situation, prior verbal
approval with an after-the-fact written
authorization by the agency’s designated
travel approving official is permitted.
2. Special approval requirements for
travel to meet Mission Requirements.
Each agency may establish its own
approval requirements for travel to meet
mission requirements.
3. Special approval requirements for
required-use travel.
a. Use of Government aircraft may be
required because of bona fide
communications needs (e.g., 24-hour
secure communications are required),
security reasons (e.g., circumstances
that present a clear and present danger
to the traveler), or exceptional
scheduling requirements (e.g., a national
emergency or other compelling
operational considerations). This
requirement may apply to travel for
official, personal, or political purposes.
b. Required-use of Government
aircraft for travel (i.e., required-use
travel) must be approved in advance
and in writing by one of the following:
i. The President may determine that
all travel, or travel in specified
categories, by an agency head or other
Federal official satisfies the criteria to
qualify as required-use travel, or
ii. The agency head may determine in
writing that all travel, or travel in
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specified categories, by an officer or
employee within the agency satisfies the
criteria to qualify as required-use travel.
This determination must also conform
to written standards established by the
agency head.
iii. If neither of the two preceding
determinations applies, a Federal officer
or employee must obtain written
approval for all required-use travel on a
trip-by-trip basis from the agency’s
senior legal official or his/her principal
deputy. In special emergency situations,
an after-the-fact written approval by an
agency is permitted, but in either case,
the approval must certify that the travel
satisfies the criteria to qualify as
required-use travel.
4. Special approval requirements for
other official travel. An agency may
approve other official travel on a
Government aircraft under one or more
of the following circumstances:
a. Sufficient capacity exists on a
Government aircraft that will meet the
traveler’s flight requirements (i.e.,
space-available). Agencies authorizing
space available justification must
ensure—
i. The aircraft is already scheduled for
use for an official purpose;
ii. Such space-available use does not
require a larger aircraft than needed for
the official purpose;
iii. Such space-available use results
only in minor additional cost to the
Government; and either
iv. The Federal traveler or the
dependent of a Federal traveler is
stationed by the Government in a
remote location that is not accessible to
scheduled commercial airline service; or
v. The traveler is authorized to travel
space-available under 10 U.S.C. 2648
Persons and supplies: Sea, land, and air
transportation.
b. Use of a Government aircraft is the
most cost-effective alternative that will
meet the travel requirements. To ensure
that a Government aircraft is the most
cost-effective alternative for travel, the
traveler’s designated travel-approving
official must—
i. Compare the cost of all reasonable
travel alternatives, including:
1. The cost of the city-pair fare for
scheduled commercial airline service or
the cost of the lowest available full
coach fare, if a city-pair fare is not
available to the traveler.
2. The cost of using Government
aircraft, whether owned or hired as a
CAS.
3. Travel by other available modes of
transportation that are capable of
meeting the travel requirements.
ii. Consider the cost of nonproductive or lost-work time while in
travel status and other relevant costs
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(e.g., landing fees, tolls, parking, etc.)
when comparing the costs of using
Government aircraft in lieu of scheduled
commercial airline service and other
available modes of transportation.
NOTE: The cost of non-productive or
lost-work time must be computed based
on gross actual hourly costs to the
Government. These hourly costs should
include benefits, but may not include
the use of multipliers based on salary,
position, or any other factor.
iii. Approve the most cost-effective
alternative that meets the agency’s
needs.
c. Scheduled commercial airline
service is less expensive than
Government aircraft, but no such service
is reasonably available (i.e., able to meet
the traveler’s departure and/or arrival
requirements within a 24 hour period,
unless the traveler demonstrates that
extraordinary circumstances require a
shorter period) to effectively fulfill the
agency requirement.
5. Special approval requirements for
Senior Federal Officials and NonFederal Travelers. Use of Government
aircraft for all official travel by Senior
Federal Officials and Non-Federal
Travelers (including members of
families of such Senior Federal
Officials) must be in conformance with
an agency review and approval system
that has been approved by OMB, or
authorized in advance and in writing,
on a trip-by-trip basis, by the senior
legal official of the agency sponsoring
the travel or his/her principal deputy,
except for required-use travel
authorized under paragraph 6.b.ii.3
Special Approval Requirements For
Required-Use Travel. This special
approval requirement also applies to
Senior Federal Officials traveling spaceavailable or as crewmembers or
qualified non-crewmembers on a flight
(i.e., being transported from point to
point). In an emergency situation,
neither prior written nor prior verbal
approval is required.
iii. Reimbursement for Use of
Government Aircraft
1. For travel other than required-use
or space-available travel:
a. Any incidental private activities
(personal or political) of an employee
undertaken on an employee’s own time
while on official travel must not result
in any increase in the actual costs to the
Government of operating the aircraft.
b. The Government must be
reimbursed the appropriate share of the
full coach fare for any portion of the
time on the trip spent on political
activities (except as provided in
paragraph 6.b.iii.4. For Any Political
Travel).
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2. For required-use travel. The
Government must be reimbursed as
follows (except as may otherwise be
required in paragraph 6.b.iii.4. For Any
Political Travel) for required-use travel;
a. For a wholly personal or political
trip, the full coach fare for the trip;
b. For an official trip during which
the employee engages in political
activities, the appropriate share of the
full coach fare for the entire trip;
c. For an official trip during which the
employee flies to one or more locations
for personal reasons, the excess of the
full coach fare of all flights taken by the
employee on the trip over the full coach
fare of the flights that would have been
taken by the employee had there been
no personal activities on the trip.
3. For space-available travel. For
space-available travel other than for the
conduct of agency business, whether on
mission or other flights, the Government
must be reimbursed at the full coach
fare except (1) as authorized under 10
U.S.C. 2648 and regulations
implementing the statute; and (2) by
civilian personnel and their dependents
in remote locations (i.e., locations not
reasonably accessible to regularlyscheduled commercial airline service).
No reimbursement is required for spaceavailable travel for the conduct of
agency business.
4. For any political travel.
Reimbursement must be made in the
amount required by law or regulation
(e.g., 11 CFR 106.3) if greater than the
amount otherwise required by the
foregoing reimbursement rules.
iv. Documenting Travel on
Government Aircraft.
In addition to the usual information
provided on an official travel
authorization (e.g., the purpose of the
travel, name and title of the approving
official, date approved, funding source,
etc.), authorizations for travel on
Government aircraft should also
document the justification for such
travel as well as any special approvals
required.
1. Travel to meet mission
requirements must be noted as such and
identify the mission(s).
2. Required-use travel must be noted
as such, the criteria for its use cited, and
any required approvals documented.
3. Other official travel must be noted
as such and the justification for using
Government aircraft documented, i.e.:
a. Space-available—Space is available
on a Government aircraft that meets the
traveler’s flight requirements.
b. Cost—Use of Government aircraft is
the most cost-effective alternative that
will meet the travel requirements. If this
justification is cited, the estimated cost
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of the travel alternatives considered
must be provided.
c. Lack of reasonable alternatives—
For example, scheduled commercial
airline service may be less expensive,
but not reasonably available to meet the
traveler’s schedule requirements.
4. All travel authorizations for the use
of Government aircraft by Senior
Federal Officials and Non-Federal
Travelers for mission requirements and
other official travel must document all
special approvals required.
v. Reporting Travel on Government
Aircraft
1. Agencies that use Government
aircraft for travel must report semiannually to GSA each use of such
aircraft for non-mission travel by Senior
Federal Officials and any Non-Federal
Travelers (except for travel authorized
under 10 U.S.C. 2648 and regulations
implementing that statute). This
includes travel as a passenger,
crewmember, or qualified noncrewmember.
2. Agencies that are included in the
Intelligence Community, as identified in
the National Security Act, 50 U.S.C.
3003, must maintain information on
trips by Senior Federal Officials and
Non-Federal Travelers, but the agencies
are not required to report this
information to GSA. The information
must be made available to Congress or
any other organization with the
appropriate security clearance and
oversight responsibility upon request.
3. Agencies must maintain data on
required-use of Government aircraft, but
are not required to submit this
information to GSA. The information
must be made available to Congress or
any other organization with oversight
responsibility upon request.
4. GSA will provide policies and
reporting criteria to agencies that
authorize travel on Government aircraft
and administer the annual submission
of a Senior Federal Travel Report to
OMB.
c. Accounting for Aircraft Costs
The costs associated with agency
aircraft programs must be accumulated
to: (1) Justify acquisitions needed to
support the agency’s aviation program;
(2) justify the use of Government aircraft
in lieu of commercially available
aircraft, and the use of one Government
aircraft in lieu of another; (3) recover the
costs of operating Government aircraft
when appropriate; and (4) determine the
cost effectiveness of various aspects of
agency aircraft programs. To accomplish
these purposes, agencies must
accumulate their aircraft program costs
in accordance with GSA’s Aircraft Cost
Accounting Guide. The remainder of
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this section presents guidance for
accomplishing each of these purposes.
i. Justifying Aviation Program
Acquisitions
When the Circular was revised in
1992, the principal OMB guidance
affecting agencies’ aviation program
acquisition choices was OMB Circular
A–76, ‘‘Performance of Commercial
Activities.’’ Since that time, OMB has
developed more comprehensive
guidance for agency use in planning and
justifying investments in capital assets,
including capital assets needed to
support aviation programs. This
guidance is contained in OMB Circular
A–11 and its supplement, the Capital
Programming Guide. Taken together,
these two documents provide the broad
principles that agencies should use to
establish capital planning processes for
their aviation programs. It is critical that
agencies be able to collect accurate costs
for the acquisition and operation of all
assets that comprise their aviation
programs, including non-aircraft assets,
where appropriate. These costs will be
aggregated and presented for budget
justification purposes in formats that
meet the overall requirements of OMB
Circular A–11 and are acceptable to the
agencies’ OMB Resource Management
Offices (RMOs). The Capital
Programming Guide requires agencies to
consider OMB Circular A–76, as
appropriate, when evaluating
investment alternatives; e.g.,
determining whether any aviation
program activities qualify as inherently
Governmental functions and justifying
in-house operation of Government
aircraft versus procurement of CAS.
ii. Justifying Use of Government
Aircraft.
Agencies that use Government aircraft
to support recurring travel between
locations are encouraged to develop
standard trip cost justification
schedules, and must ensure that the
costs used for such schedules are kept
current. These schedules should
summarize and compare the projected
costs of using one or more specific types
of agency aircraft (both owned and
hired, as applicable) for travel between
selected locations to the costs of using
commercial airline service between
those locations. Comparative costs for
varying passenger loads should also be
shown. Agencies that choose to use this
approach should be able to see the
minimum number of official travelers
needed to justify the use of a particular
aircraft or aircraft type for a trip
between locations on the schedule.
Agencies that are not able to use such
schedules are required to do a cost
justification on a case by case basis.
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To make the cost comparisons
necessary to justify the use of a
Government aircraft, the agency must
compare the actual cost of using a
Government aircraft to the cost of using
a commercial airline service. The actual
cost of using a Government aircraft is
either: (a) The amount that the agency
will be charged by the organization (e.g.,
another agency or a CAS provider) that
provides the aircraft, (b) the variable
cost of using the aircraft, if the agency
operates its own aircraft; or (c) the
variable cost of using the aircraft as
reported to it by the owning agency, if
the owning agency is not required to
charge for the use of its aircraft.
Agencies should develop a variable
cost rate for each aircraft or aircraft type
(i.e., make and model) in their
inventories before the beginning of each
fiscal year. These rates should be
developed as follows:
1. Accumulate or allocate to the
aircraft or aircraft type all historical
costs (for the previous 12 months, or
longer periods, as appropriate) grouped
under the variable cost category defined
in GSA regulations. These costs should
be obtained from the agency’s
accounting system.
2. Reduce or eliminate short-term data
volatilities, as needed, by factoring in or
out seasonal, cyclic, and infrequent
variable cost components, such as
engine overhauls and accident repairs,
and allocating those costs over time as
appropriate.
3. Adjust the historical variable costs
from Step 1 for inflation and for any
known upcoming cost changes to
project the new variable cost total. The
inflation and escalation factors used
must conform to OMB Circulars A–11
and A–76, as appropriate.
4. Divide the total variable costs of the
aircraft or aircraft type by the flying
hours corresponding to the historical
data timeframe for the aircraft or aircraft
type to compute the projected variable
cost or usage rate (per flying hour).
To compute the variable cost of using
an agency’s own aircraft for a proposed
trip, multiply the variable cost rate
computed in Step 4 (above) by the
estimated number of flying hours for the
trip. The variable cost of using a
Government aircraft for a trip should
include, as appropriate, all time
required to position or reposition the
aircraft prior to and after the trip, if no
follow-on trip is scheduled. If a followon trip requires any repositioning time,
it should be charged with that time. If
one aircraft mission (i.e., a series of
flights scheduled sequentially) supports
multiple trips, the use of the aircraft for
the total mission may be justified by
comparing the actual cost of the entire
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mission to the commercial airline costs
for all the component trips.
The cost of using commercial airline
services for the purpose of justifying the
use of Government aircraft must:
1. Be the current Government contract
fare or price or the lowest fare or price
known to be available for the trip(s) in
question;
2. include, as appropriate, any
differences in the costs of any additional
ground or air travel, per diem and
miscellaneous travel (e.g., taxis, parking,
etc.), and lost employees’ work time
(computed at gross hourly costs to the
Government, including benefits)
between the two options; and
3. only include costs associated with
passengers on official business. Costs
associated with passengers traveling on
a space-available basis may not be used
in the cost comparison.
iii. Recovering Cost of Operation
Under the Economy Act of 1932, as
amended, (31 U.S.C. 1535), and various
acts appropriating funds or establishing
working funds to operate aircraft,
agencies are required to recover the
costs of operating their aircraft for use
by other agencies, other governments
(e.g., state, local, or foreign), or nonofficial travelers. Depending on the
statutory authorities under which its
aircraft were obtained or are operated,
an agency may use either of two
methods for establishing the rates
charged for using its aircraft: (1) The full
cost recovery rate or (2), the variable
cost recovery rate.
The full cost recovery rate for an
aircraft is the sum of the variable and
fixed cost rates for that aircraft. The
computation of the variable cost rate for
an aircraft or aircraft type is described
under paragraph 6.c.ii. Justifying Use of
Government Aircraft. The fixed cost rate
for an aircraft or aircraft type is
computed as follows:
1. Accumulate from the agency’s
accounting system (for the previous 12
months or longer, as appropriate) the
fixed costs listed in GSA Regulations
that are directly attributable to the
aircraft or aircraft type (e.g., crew costsfixed, maintenance costs-fixed, and
aircraft lease-fixed).
2. Adjust the historical fixed costs
from Step 1 for inflation and for any
known upcoming cost changes,
including contract price adjustments, to
project the new fixed cost total. The
inflation and escalation factors used
must conform to OMB Circulars A–11
and A–76, as appropriate.
3. Add to the adjusted historical fixed
costs amounts representing selfinsurance costs and the annual
depreciation or replacement costs, as
described in GSA regulations.
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4. Allocate operations and
administrative overhead costs to the
aircraft or aircraft type based on the
percentage of total aircraft program
flying hours attributable to that aircraft
or aircraft type.
5. Compute a fixed cost recovery rate
for the aircraft or aircraft type by
dividing the sum of the projected
directly attributable fixed costs (from
Step 3) and the allocated fixed costs
(from Step 4) by the annual flying hours
projected for the aircraft or aircraft type.
6. To compute the full cost recovery
rate of using a Government aircraft for
a trip, add the variable cost rate for the
aircraft or aircraft type to the
corresponding fixed cost rate (computed
in Step 5 above) and multiply the result
by the estimated number of flying hours
for the trip using the proposed aircraft.
The variable cost recovery rate for an
aircraft or aircraft type is usually the
same as the variable cost or usage rate
described under paragraph 6.c.ii.
Justifying Use of Government Aircraft.
In the event that the requesting agency
covers some of the costs included in the
variable cost recovery rate, e.g., fuel or
crew costs, such costs are not incurred
by the servicing agency and should be
subtracted from cost recovery rate for
that flight. If an agency decides to base
the charge for using its aircraft solely on
the variable cost recovery rate, it must
recover the fixed costs of those aircraft
from the appropriation which supports
the mission for which the procurement
of the aircraft was justified. In such
cases, the fixed cost recovery rate may
be expressed on an annual, monthly or
flying hour basis.
iv. Determining Aircraft Program Cost
Effectiveness
Although cost effectiveness measures
are not the only performance indicators
of the effectiveness of an agency’s
aircraft program, they can be very useful
in identifying opportunities to reduce
aircraft operational costs. These
opportunities might include changing
maintenance practices, purchasing fuel
at lower costs, and the replacement of
old, inefficient aircraft with aircraft that
are more fuel efficient and have lower
operations and maintenance costs.
The most common measures used to
evaluate the cost effectiveness of various
aspects of an aircraft program are
expressed as the cost per flying hour or
per passenger mile for certain types of
aircraft costs. These measures may be
developed using the Standard Aircraft
Program Cost Elements and include, but
are not limited to: Maintenance costs/
flying hour, fuel and other fluids cost/
flying hour, accident repair costs/flying
hour (or per aircraft), and variable cost/
passenger mile.
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In coordination with the Interagency
Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP),
GSA should assist in the development
of aviation performance indicators that
agencies can use, within the context of
their various missions and unique
operating environments, to assess the
cost-effective management of their
aircraft.
7. Agency Responsibilities.
a. The head of each Executive Agency
must issue the appropriate internal
agency directives to implement this
Circular within 180 days of its
publication. These internal agency
directives must include all policies
contained in this Circular that apply to
the agency’s use of Government aircraft,
and may contain additional policies
unique to the agency.
i. Agencies that own or hire aircraft
must assure that their internal directives
comply with section 6.a. of this
Circular.
ii. Agencies that use Government
aircraft to support their travel
requirements must assure that their
internal travel policies are consistent
with section 6.b. of this Circular.
b. The Secretaries of Defense and the
uniformed services, the Secretary of
State and GSA must incorporate the
applicable policies of this Circular into
the travel regulations that they publish
for uniformed service, foreign service,
and civilian employees, respectively.
The necessary changes to these
regulations should be issued no later
than 180 days from the date of this
Circular.
c. GSA shall maintain an office to
implement Government-wide
responsibilities for Government aviation
program management that include, but
are not limited to, the following:
i. Organizing and maintaining an
interagency committee composed of
Federal agency senior aviation
management officials who advise the
Administrator of General Services on
Government aircraft policy and
management.
ii. Coordinating the development of
effectiveness measures, policy
recommendations, and guidance for the
procurement, operation, safety, and
disposal of Government aircraft
consistent with section 6.a. of this
Circular.
iii. Providing policy
recommendations and guidance on the
use of Government aircraft to conduct
official business.
iv. Operating a Government-wide
information system to collect, analyze,
and report agency information on
Government aircraft.
v. Developing and maintaining
common, generic aircraft information
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system standards (i.e., data definitions
and software specifications) for
agencies’ use in developing their own
internal aircraft information systems
and for routine and ad hoc reporting of
their information to GSA. These data
definitions will also include aircraft
program cost element definitions and
standards to account for aircraft costs
consistent with section 6.c. of this
Circular.
vi. Providing to OMB and, upon
request to Congress and other official
requestors, analytical reports of the
information collected and maintained in
the Government-wide aircraft
management information system as well
as information collected from agencies
on an ad hoc basis. Such reports should
include, but not be limited to:
1. Aviation related reports that may be
required by OMB and other Executive
guidance.
2. An annual aviation data set that
includes an inventory of agency-owned
aircraft and the costs and flight hours
associated with each agency’s flight
operations performed by both agencyowned and CAS aircraft.
3. Periodic reports on the utilization
of the Exchange/Sale Authority for
aircraft and aircraft parts.
vii. Upon a Federal agency’s request,
conduct external audits, surveys or
reviews of Federal agency aviation
programs to identify weaknesses and/or
to recommend improvements as needed
to increase the efficiency and the
effectiveness, as well as to improve the
safety culture of Federal agency aviation
programs.
viii. Reviewing agency aircraft
policies for compliance with Federal
regulation and guidance as needed.
ix. Developing, coordinating and
providing training, through workshops
and other means, to agency aviation
professionals on aviation safety, fleet
modernization, and any other subjects
approved by the ICAP.
8. Reports to OMB. GSA will submit
a Senior Federal Travel Report to OMB
annually. GSA will also submit the
following items to OMB upon request:
a. Aviation related reports.
b. Annual aviation data sets.
c. Exchange/Sale authority utilization
reports.
9. Related Guidance. OMB Circular
A–11 and its supplement the Capital
Programming Guide.
10. Effective Date. This Circular is
effective upon publication.
11. Information Contact. All inquiries
should be addressed to the Office of
Federal Procurement Policy, Office of
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Management and Budget, telephone
number (202) 395–1158.
[FR Doc. 2016–26464 Filed 11–1–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket Nos. 52–040 and 52–041; NRC–
2009–0337]
Combined License Application for
Turkey Point Nuclear Plant, Units 6 and
7
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Final environmental impact
statement; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE),
Jacksonville District, are issuing the
final environmental impact statement
(EIS), NUREG–2176, ‘‘Environmental
Impact Statement for Combined
Licenses (COLs) for Turkey Point
Nuclear Plant, Units 6 and 7,’’ to
support the environmental review for
the combined license application
Florida Power and Light Company (FPL)
submitted an application for COLs to
construct and operate two new nuclear
power plants at its Turkey Point site
near Homestead, Florida.
DATES: The final EIS is available as of
October 28, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2009–0337, when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may obtain publicly-available
information related to this action by the
following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2009–0337. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• NRC’S Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘ADAMS Public Documents,’’ and then
select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC’s Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
SUMMARY:
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email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The final
EIS is available in ADAMS under
Accession Nos. ML16300A104,
ML16300A137, ML16301A018, and
ML16300A312, respectively.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
• Project Web site: The final EIS can
be accessed online at the Turkey Point
COL specific Web page at https://
www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/
turkey-point.html.
• South Dade Regional Library and
Homestead Branch Library: The final
EIS is available for public inspection at
10750 SW 211th Street, Cutler Bay,
Florida 33189; 700 N. Homestead Blvd.,
Homestead, Florida 33030.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alicia Williamson Dickerson, Office of
New Reactors, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001, telephone: 301–415–1878, email:
Alicia.Williamson@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In accordance with section 51.118 of
title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, the NRC is issuing
NUREG–2176, ‘‘Environmental Impact
Statement for Combined Licenses
(COLs) for Turkey Point Nuclear Plant,
Units 6 and 7.’’ A notice of availability
of the draft EIS was published by the
NRC in the Federal Register on March
5, 2015 (80 FR 12043) and also noticed
by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency on March 6, 2015 (80 FR 12172).
The public comment period closed on
May 22, 2015. During the course of the
comment period, the NRC received
requests from members of the public, a
Tribal government and Federal agencies
to extend the comment period. The NRC
reopened the comment period on the
draft EIS from May 28, 2015, until July
17, 2015 (80 FR 30501); public
comments are addressed in Appendix E
in the final EIS. The final EIS is
available for public inspection as
indicated in the ADDRESSES section of
this document.
The final EIS also supports the
USACE’s review and was prepared in
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended. The final EIS also supports
the Department of the Army’s permit
application for certain construction
activities at the proposed Turkey Point,
Units 6 and 7 site. The USACE’s
Department of the Army permit
application number for Turkey Point,
Units 6 and 7 project is (SAJ–2009–
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 2, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76385-76392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26464]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Improving the Management and Use of Government Aircraft
AGENCY: Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and
Budget
ACTION: Proposed Revision to Office of Management and Budget Circular
No. A-126, ``Improving the Management and Use of Government Aircraft.''
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing to revise OMB Circular A-
126 ``Improving the Management and Use of Government Aircraft'' to
update policies associated with the management and use of Government
aircraft, including General Services Administration (GSA) and agency
roles in regulating and managing the Federal aviation programs that
have evolved since the Circular was last revised in 1992. The proposed
changes also address recommendations from the Interagency Committee for
Aviation Policy (ICAP) to make a clearer distinction between polices
that apply to the management of aircraft and policies that apply to
travel on Government aircraft.
DATES: Interested parties should submit comments in writing to the
address below on or before 30 days after publication in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted online at www.regulations.gov.
Instructions: All comments received will be posted, without change
or redaction, to www.regulations.gov, so commenters should not include
information that they do not wish to be posted (for example because
they consider it personal or business confidential).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Wade, OFPP, jwade@omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Overview
Federal agencies own more than 1,200 operational aircraft to
support a wide range of missions, including fire-fighting, law
enforcement, research and development, and other activities. Federal
aircraft are also used in various situations to transport certain
executives. OMB Circular A-126 sets forth requirements to help ensure
the appropriate agency use of Government aircraft.
Traditionally, the Circular has focused primarily on travel policy.
When the Circular was last updated in 1992, coverage was strengthened
to restrict the operation of aircraft to defined official purposes,
restrict travel on such aircraft, require special review of such travel
by senior officials or non-Federal travelers, and codify policies for
reimbursement. The proposed revisions to A-126 would retain these
policies but make several refinements to address recommendations made
by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a 2014 report (GAO-14-
151) recommending clarification on reporting exemptions for the
Intelligence Community. Currently, the Circular exempts the reporting
of classified trips, but the reporting of unclassified data is not
explicitly addressed. To resolve this ambiguity, the proposed revisions
to the Circular would include a clear statement that the Intelligence
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Community must maintain information on trips by senior Federal
officials and non-Federal travelers, but agencies included in the
community would not be required to report the data to the General
Services Administration (GSA). Similarly, other agencies must maintain
information on the required use of Government aircraft, but they are
not required to report the data to GSA.
Other proposed revisions would clarify the requirements for
contractors traveling on Government aircraft and expand the guidance
for determining whether Government aircraft is the most cost-effective
alternative for meeting travel requirements.
Further revisions are proposed to enhance the Circular's coverage
on aircraft management. These changes are designed to integrate a
number of policies and practices that have been developed or refined
since the Circular was last updated that strengthen investment and
management practices associated with capital assets. For example, the
Circular adds references to long-standing requirements in OMB Circular
A-11 to prepare a business case that justifies the acquisition and
operation of a capital asset; requires agencies to maintain an office
dedicated to aircraft management; establishes flight program standards
and performance indicators; and encourages the use of the Exchange/Sale
program for replacing and disposing of aircraft. Other changes include
broadening the definition of Government aircraft to include unmanned
aircraft systems and the addition of definitions of Commercial Aviation
Services (CAS), fixed costs, variable costs, performance indicator, and
Senior Aviation Management Official (SAMO). Finally, for clarification
and ease of use, the Circular is reorganized into separate parts for
management, travel, and cost accounting.
OMB requests comments on these proposals as well as on other
aspects of the Circular.
Lesley A. Field,
Acting Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy.
To the Heads of Executive Departments and Establishments
Subject: Improving the Management and Use of Government Aircraft
1. Purpose. This Circular is issued to minimize cost and improve
the management, safety and efficiency of Government aviation
activities. It prescribes policies to be followed by Executive Agencies
in acquiring, managing, using, disposing of, and accounting for costs
of aircraft.
2. Supersession Information. This Circular rescinds and supersedes
OMB Circular No. A-126, Improving the Management and Use of Government
Aircraft, dated May 22, 1992.
3. Authority. This Circular is issued pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 1121
and 31 U.S.C. 1344.
4. Overview. In general, Government-wide policy guidance for use of
Government aircraft restricts the operation to official purposes, i.e.,
mission requirements, required-use, and other official travel;
restricts travel on such aircraft; requires special review of such
travel by senior officials or Non-Federal Travelers; and codifies
policies for reimbursement. This Circular is being revised to respond
to recommendations from the Federal aviation community that OMB's
aviation guidance make a clearer distinction between policies that
apply to the management of Government aircraft and policies that apply
to travel on Government aircraft. This revision also formalizes General
Services Administration (GSA) and agency roles in regulating and
managing the Federal aviation programs that have evolved since the
Circular was last revised in 1992.
This Circular applies to all Executive Agencies and to all
Government aircraft except for aircraft used by or in support of the
President or Vice President.
5. Definitions. For purposes of this Circular, the following
definitions apply.
a. Acquire means to procure or otherwise obtain personal property,
including by lease or rent (FMR 102-33.20).
b. Aircraft means any contrivance invented, used, or designed to
navigate, or fly in, the air (49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(6)).
c. Commercial Aviation Services (CAS) include aircraft that are
leased, lease-purchased, rented, chartered, hired under full service
contracts, or hired under inter-service support agreements, and related
support services.
d. Crew Member means a person assigned to perform duty in an
aircraft during flight time (14 CFR part 1.1).
e. Federal Traveler means a person who travels as a Passenger, a
Crew Member, or a Qualified Non-Crew Member, on a Government aircraft
and who is either (1) a civilian employee of an Executive Agency
including invitational travelers per 5 U.S.C. 5703; (2) a member of a
uniformed or a foreign service of the United States Government; or (3)
a contractor working under a contract with an Executive Agency.
f. Fixed Costs of operating aircraft are those that result from
owning and supporting the aircraft and that do not vary according to
aircraft usage. The specific fixed cost elements are defined in GSA's
Aircraft Cost Accounting Guide and include, but are not limited to:
Crew, maintenance, labor, parts, contracts, lease costs, operations
overhead, administrative overhead, self-insurance costs, and
depreciation.
g. Full Coach Fare means city pairs capacity-controlled fare. In
the absence of availability of capacity-controlled city pairs, it is a
city pairs unrestricted coach fare. If no city pair fare is available
for that route, full coach fare is the lowest available coach fare
available to the general public from any source between the day that
the travel was planned and the day the travel occurred.
h. Government Aircraft means manned or unmanned aircraft operated
for the exclusive use of an Executive Agency. Government aircraft
include (1) Federal aircraft as defined in FMR 102-33.20; and (2)
Aircraft hired as commercial aviation services (CAS).
i. Governmental Function means an activity undertaken by a
government, such as national defense, intelligence missions,
firefighting, search and rescue, law enforcement (including transport
of prisoners, detainees, and illegal aliens), aeronautical research, or
biological or geological resource management, which is a partial
qualification for a Public Aircraft Operation as defined in 49 U.S.C.
40125.
j. Mission Requirements mean activities that constitute the
discharge of an agency's Governmental functions. Such activities
include, but are not limited to, the transport of troops and/or
equipment, training related to the operation of or duties on board the
aircraft, evacuation (including medical evacuation), intelligence and
counter-narcotics activities, search and rescue, transportation of
prisoners, use of defense attach[eacute]-controlled aircraft,
aeronautical research and space and science applications, and other
such activities. For purposes of this Circular, mission requirements do
not include official travel to give speeches, to attend conferences or
meetings, to make routine site visits, or to attend training not
related to the operation of the aircraft.
k. Non-Federal Traveler means an individual who travels on a
Government aircraft, but is not a Federal traveler. Dependents and
other family members of Federal travelers who travel on Government
aircraft are considered to be Non-Federal Travelers within this
Circular.
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l. Official Travel means (1) travel to meet mission requirements,
(2) required-use travel, and (3) other travel to conduct non-mission
agency business, either departure and return from one location, or
between locations.
m. Passenger means a traveler who is not a Crew Member or a
Qualified Non-Crew Member.
n. Performance Indicator means a numerical or qualitative term or
value for reporting organizational activities and results, generally
with respect to achieving specific goals related to outcomes, outputs,
efficiency, and inputs. When applied to aircraft, performance
indicators typically measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the
processes involved with safely delivering aircraft services. Examples
are Operations Scheduling Effectiveness; Aircraft Availability Rates;
Non-Availability Rates; Mission Capable and Non-mission Rates; Non-
airworthy Maintenance Rates; and Non-airworthy Supply Rates.
o. Public Aircraft Operation means the same as the term defined in
49 U.S.C. 40102 and 49 U.S.C. 40125.
p. Qualified Non-Crew Member means an individual, other than a
member of the crew, aboard an aircraft (1) operated by the armed forces
or an intelligence agency of the United States Government; or (2) whose
presence is required to perform, or is associated with the performance
of, a governmental function (49 U.S.C. 40125).
q. Required-Use means use of a Government aircraft for the travel
of an Executive Agency officer or employee, where the use of the
Government aircraft is required because of bona fide communications or
security needs of the agency or exceptional scheduling requirements.
r. Senior Aviation Management Official (SAMO) means the person in
an Executive Agency who is the agency's primary member of the
Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP). This person must be
of appropriate grade and position to represent the agency and promote
flight safety and adherence to standards.
s. Senior Federal Officials are individuals who are paid according
to the Executive Schedule, including Presidential appointees who are
confirmed by the Senate; employed in the U.S. Government's Senior
Executive Service or an equivalent senior service; who is a civilian
employee of the Executive Office of the President; who is appointed by
the President to a position under section 105(a)(2)(A), (B), or (C) of
title 3 U.S.C. or by the Vice President to a position under section
106(a)(1)(A), (B), or (C) of title 3 U.S.C.; or a contractor working
under a contract with an Executive Agency who is paid at a rate equal
to or more than the minimum rate for the Senior Executive Service, and
has senior executive responsibilities. The term Senior Federal Official
does not mean an active duty military officer.
t. Transportation means, for the purpose of this Circular, the act
of moving personnel or passengers engaged in travel onboard a
Government aircraft.
u. Travel, for purposes of reporting Senior Federal Travel, means
on or in an aircraft while it is in flight. The origin and the
destination may be different or the same. An example of the origin and
the destination being the same is when the aircraft was used for
observation from the air, i.e., for storm evaluation.
v. Variable costs are the costs of operating aircraft that vary
depending on how much the aircraft are used. The specific variable cost
elements are defined in GSA's Aircraft Cost Accounting Guide and
include, but are not limited to: crew costs; maintenance costs, labor,
parts and contracts; engine overhaul; aircraft refurbishment; major
component repairs; fuel, oxidants, and lubricants; lease costs and
flight support.
6. Policy.
a. Managing Government Aircraft
i. Acquiring Government Aircraft
1. Executive Agencies must be authorized to acquire aircraft in
accordance with 31 U.S.C. 1343.
2. An Executive Agency may not acquire more, larger, or more
capable aircraft than it needs to carry out its official Government
business.
3. Executive Agencies must choose the most cost-effective
alternatives for acquiring aircraft and CAS. Aircraft selection should
be based on need, a strong business case, and life-cycle cost analyses,
which conform to the requirements in OMB Circular A-11, Preparation,
Submission and Execution of the Budget, and its supplement, the Capital
Programming Guide. Where performance of work by Federal employees may
be involved, such as for aircraft maintenance, agencies shall also
consider any other applicable policies used to compare the cost of
Government and contractor performance.
ii. Operating Government Aircraft
1. Executive Agencies that operate Government aircraft (i.e., both
owned and hired aircraft) must:
a. Use them only for official purposes, i.e., mission requirements,
required-use, and other official travel.
b. Use them in the most operationally efficient and effective
manner to accomplish these purposes.
c. Document all uses of such aircraft and retain that documentation
for at least two years. At a minimum, the documentation of each use of
Government aircraft must include:
i. The tail number of the aircraft;
ii. The date(s) used;
iii. The name(s) of the crew members and qualified non-crew
members;
iv. The purpose(s) of the flight;
v. The cost(s) of flights conducted on Government aircraft used for
political activities or required-use travel as identified in section
6.b.iii that require reimbursement. Cost(s) of flights for Senior
Federal Officials and Non-Federal Travelers are also required for
potential reporting to GSA;
vi. The route(s) flown and flight time; and
vii. The name(s) of all passengers, and an indication if any
passenger is either a Senior Federal Official or a Non-Federal
Traveler.
d. Unless otherwise exempt from reporting in accordance with FMR
102-33, provide any information requested by GSA on a routine or ad hoc
basis on their aircraft inventory, costs, and utilization (flight
hours).
2. Executive Agencies that only hire aircraft occasionally for
specific flights, must either:
a. Establish an aviation program that complies with the
requirements in paragraph 3 of this section (i.e., a ``policy-compliant
aviation program''), or
b. Hire those aircraft through an agency with a policy-compliant
aviation program to assure that safety and other critical aviation
program requirements are satisfied.
3. Executive Agencies or their components that own and/or operate
aircraft, except agencies that only hire aircraft occasionally for
specific flights, must:
a. Designate a Senior Aviation Management Official (SAMO) to serve
as the primary member of the GSA Interagency Committee for Aviation
Policy (ICAP) and provide an alternate for the primary member.
b. Maintain an office to carry out the agency's aircraft management
responsibilities.
c. Periodically review the continuing need for each of their
aircraft and the cost-effectiveness of their aircraft operations as
directed by OMB Circular A-11 as well as other applicable policies used
to compare the cost of Government and contractor performance.
d. Develop performance indicators that measure the impact on
mission
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accomplishment contributed by the aviation program and provide a tool
for measuring the impact of future aviation program investments. Such
information will be utilized in supporting budget requests and periodic
agency reviews of the effectiveness of the aviation program's
performance.
e. Comply with the internal control requirements of OMB Circular A-
123 and assure that the appropriate internal controls for aviation
management are included in the agency's Management Control Plan. Any
material weaknesses in aviation programs are to be reported in the
annual internal control reports to the President and the Congress.
f. Establish and enforce agency-specific flight program standards
that include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
i. Management/administration
ii. Acquisition and disposal
iii. Operations
iv. Maintenance
v. Training
vi. Safety
g. Ensure that their flight program standards comply with all
statutes required to qualify for Public Aircraft Operations status
including 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(41) and 49 U.S.C. 40125 and regulations
that apply to Federal aviation activities, including GSA regulations
and applicable Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.
Also--
i. When using a Government aircraft to transport a Passenger or to
transport Passengers or property for compensation or hire, the activity
would not qualify as a Public Aircraft Operation, and the Executive
Agency flight program standards must comply with the applicable FAA
regulations for civil aircraft;
ii. When using Government aircraft to perform a Governmental
Function, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 40125, the Executive Agency
flight program need only comply with agency-specific safety standards
and with the applicable FAA regulations for all aircraft operating
within the National Airspace System and not the safety standards and
FAA regulations that apply only to civil aircraft (reference Pub.L. 85-
726, Federal Aviation Act of 1958).
h. Use automated aircraft management information systems that
comply with data standards and reporting requirements prescribed by
GSA, as well as with the agency's internal information requirements,
to:
i. Accumulate costs into the standard aircraft program cost
elements prescribed in GSA regulations. The uses of these cost elements
for various purposes are discussed in section 6.c Accounting for
Aircraft Costs.
ii. Unless otherwise exempt from reporting in accordance with FMR
102-33, accumulate and report to GSA information on their Government
aircraft inventory, costs, and utilization according to GSA's guidance.
iii. Accumulate data to support aviation performance indicators
that measure the effectiveness of their operations, maintenance and
logistics programs and the impact of the aviation program on mission
performance.
i. Develop agency specific fleet management and modernization plans
to optimize the use of Government aircraft through:
i. Sharing common aircraft, transferring, or disposing of
underutilized aircraft;
ii. Reducing excessive aircraft operations and maintenance costs;
and
iii. Disposing of aircraft that are no longer cost effective or no
longer meet agency needs and acquiring replacement aircraft.
iii. Providing Government Aircraft Services to Other Activities
1. In general, agencies that own or operate aircraft are authorized
in statute to use those aircraft to serve specific missions and/or
agency components and are funded in appropriations acts to provide
those services.
2. In a few cases, one agency may be authorized to provide aviation
services to another agency without requiring reimbursement for those
services, e.g., the FAA is authorized to provide aviation support to
the National Transportation Safety Board.
3. In most cases, however, servicing agencies that provide aviation
services to requesting agencies under the Economy Act (31 U.S. Code
1535) are required to recover the actual costs from those entities
receiving the service. This is typically handled as an Interagency
Acquisition under the Economy Act.
iv. Replacing and Disposing of Government Aircraft
Agencies that want to replace aircraft are encouraged to use the
Exchange/Sale Authority to do so. Under this authority, agencies are
permitted to exchange or sell aircraft or aircraft parts that need to
be replaced and apply the Exchange allowance or the Sale proceeds to
the cost of the replacement aircraft or aircraft parts. Agencies that
determine that their aircraft or aircraft parts are excess property and
do not need replacement property may dispose of the aircraft or
aircraft parts via donation, transfer, or sale. Guidance for using the
Exchange/Sale Authority to replace aircraft or aircraft parts or for
disposing of excess property is provided in regulations issued by the
GSA.
b. Traveling on Government Aircraft
i. Who May Travel on Government Aircraft
Federal travelers who, for purposes of this Circular, include
contractors traveling on official agency business, invitational
travelers, Non-Federal Travelers and any other passengers, crewmembers,
and qualified non-crewmembers may travel on Government aircraft, but
only if they have authorization from an Executive Agency to do so.
ii. Approving Travel on Government Aircraft
1. Who may approve travel on Government Aircraft. All travel on
Government aircraft must be authorized by the agency sponsoring the
travel in accordance with its travel policies and this Circular and,
when applicable, documented on an official travel authorization. Where
possible, such travel must be approved by at least one organizational
level above the person(s) traveling (i.e., passengers, crewmembers, or
qualified non-crewmembers) in advance and in writing. If review by a
higher organizational level is not possible, or not applicable as in
the case of non-Federal or invitational travelers, another appropriate
approval is required. In an emergency situation, prior verbal approval
with an after-the-fact written authorization by the agency's designated
travel approving official is permitted.
2. Special approval requirements for travel to meet Mission
Requirements. Each agency may establish its own approval requirements
for travel to meet mission requirements.
3. Special approval requirements for required-use travel.
a. Use of Government aircraft may be required because of bona fide
communications needs (e.g., 24-hour secure communications are
required), security reasons (e.g., circumstances that present a clear
and present danger to the traveler), or exceptional scheduling
requirements (e.g., a national emergency or other compelling
operational considerations). This requirement may apply to travel for
official, personal, or political purposes.
b. Required-use of Government aircraft for travel (i.e., required-
use travel) must be approved in advance and in writing by one of the
following:
i. The President may determine that all travel, or travel in
specified categories, by an agency head or other Federal official
satisfies the criteria to qualify as required-use travel, or
ii. The agency head may determine in writing that all travel, or
travel in
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specified categories, by an officer or employee within the agency
satisfies the criteria to qualify as required-use travel. This
determination must also conform to written standards established by the
agency head.
iii. If neither of the two preceding determinations applies, a
Federal officer or employee must obtain written approval for all
required-use travel on a trip-by-trip basis from the agency's senior
legal official or his/her principal deputy. In special emergency
situations, an after-the-fact written approval by an agency is
permitted, but in either case, the approval must certify that the
travel satisfies the criteria to qualify as required-use travel.
4. Special approval requirements for other official travel. An
agency may approve other official travel on a Government aircraft under
one or more of the following circumstances:
a. Sufficient capacity exists on a Government aircraft that will
meet the traveler's flight requirements (i.e., space-available).
Agencies authorizing space available justification must ensure--
i. The aircraft is already scheduled for use for an official
purpose;
ii. Such space-available use does not require a larger aircraft
than needed for the official purpose;
iii. Such space-available use results only in minor additional cost
to the Government; and either
iv. The Federal traveler or the dependent of a Federal traveler is
stationed by the Government in a remote location that is not accessible
to scheduled commercial airline service; or
v. The traveler is authorized to travel space-available under 10
U.S.C. 2648 Persons and supplies: Sea, land, and air transportation.
b. Use of a Government aircraft is the most cost-effective
alternative that will meet the travel requirements. To ensure that a
Government aircraft is the most cost-effective alternative for travel,
the traveler's designated travel-approving official must--
i. Compare the cost of all reasonable travel alternatives,
including:
1. The cost of the city-pair fare for scheduled commercial airline
service or the cost of the lowest available full coach fare, if a city-
pair fare is not available to the traveler.
2. The cost of using Government aircraft, whether owned or hired as
a CAS.
3. Travel by other available modes of transportation that are
capable of meeting the travel requirements.
ii. Consider the cost of non-productive or lost-work time while in
travel status and other relevant costs (e.g., landing fees, tolls,
parking, etc.) when comparing the costs of using Government aircraft in
lieu of scheduled commercial airline service and other available modes
of transportation. NOTE: The cost of non-productive or lost-work time
must be computed based on gross actual hourly costs to the Government.
These hourly costs should include benefits, but may not include the use
of multipliers based on salary, position, or any other factor.
iii. Approve the most cost-effective alternative that meets the
agency's needs.
c. Scheduled commercial airline service is less expensive than
Government aircraft, but no such service is reasonably available (i.e.,
able to meet the traveler's departure and/or arrival requirements
within a 24 hour period, unless the traveler demonstrates that
extraordinary circumstances require a shorter period) to effectively
fulfill the agency requirement.
5. Special approval requirements for Senior Federal Officials and
Non-Federal Travelers. Use of Government aircraft for all official
travel by Senior Federal Officials and Non-Federal Travelers (including
members of families of such Senior Federal Officials) must be in
conformance with an agency review and approval system that has been
approved by OMB, or authorized in advance and in writing, on a trip-by-
trip basis, by the senior legal official of the agency sponsoring the
travel or his/her principal deputy, except for required-use travel
authorized under paragraph 6.b.ii.3 Special Approval Requirements For
Required-Use Travel. This special approval requirement also applies to
Senior Federal Officials traveling space-available or as crewmembers or
qualified non-crewmembers on a flight (i.e., being transported from
point to point). In an emergency situation, neither prior written nor
prior verbal approval is required.
iii. Reimbursement for Use of Government Aircraft
1. For travel other than required-use or space-available travel:
a. Any incidental private activities (personal or political) of an
employee undertaken on an employee's own time while on official travel
must not result in any increase in the actual costs to the Government
of operating the aircraft.
b. The Government must be reimbursed the appropriate share of the
full coach fare for any portion of the time on the trip spent on
political activities (except as provided in paragraph 6.b.iii.4. For
Any Political Travel).
2. For required-use travel. The Government must be reimbursed as
follows (except as may otherwise be required in paragraph 6.b.iii.4.
For Any Political Travel) for required-use travel;
a. For a wholly personal or political trip, the full coach fare for
the trip;
b. For an official trip during which the employee engages in
political activities, the appropriate share of the full coach fare for
the entire trip;
c. For an official trip during which the employee flies to one or
more locations for personal reasons, the excess of the full coach fare
of all flights taken by the employee on the trip over the full coach
fare of the flights that would have been taken by the employee had
there been no personal activities on the trip.
3. For space-available travel. For space-available travel other
than for the conduct of agency business, whether on mission or other
flights, the Government must be reimbursed at the full coach fare
except (1) as authorized under 10 U.S.C. 2648 and regulations
implementing the statute; and (2) by civilian personnel and their
dependents in remote locations (i.e., locations not reasonably
accessible to regularly-scheduled commercial airline service). No
reimbursement is required for space-available travel for the conduct of
agency business.
4. For any political travel. Reimbursement must be made in the
amount required by law or regulation (e.g., 11 CFR 106.3) if greater
than the amount otherwise required by the foregoing reimbursement
rules.
iv. Documenting Travel on Government Aircraft.
In addition to the usual information provided on an official travel
authorization (e.g., the purpose of the travel, name and title of the
approving official, date approved, funding source, etc.),
authorizations for travel on Government aircraft should also document
the justification for such travel as well as any special approvals
required.
1. Travel to meet mission requirements must be noted as such and
identify the mission(s).
2. Required-use travel must be noted as such, the criteria for its
use cited, and any required approvals documented.
3. Other official travel must be noted as such and the
justification for using Government aircraft documented, i.e.:
a. Space-available--Space is available on a Government aircraft
that meets the traveler's flight requirements.
b. Cost--Use of Government aircraft is the most cost-effective
alternative that will meet the travel requirements. If this
justification is cited, the estimated cost
[[Page 76390]]
of the travel alternatives considered must be provided.
c. Lack of reasonable alternatives--For example, scheduled
commercial airline service may be less expensive, but not reasonably
available to meet the traveler's schedule requirements.
4. All travel authorizations for the use of Government aircraft by
Senior Federal Officials and Non-Federal Travelers for mission
requirements and other official travel must document all special
approvals required.
v. Reporting Travel on Government Aircraft
1. Agencies that use Government aircraft for travel must report
semi-annually to GSA each use of such aircraft for non-mission travel
by Senior Federal Officials and any Non-Federal Travelers (except for
travel authorized under 10 U.S.C. 2648 and regulations implementing
that statute). This includes travel as a passenger, crewmember, or
qualified non-crewmember.
2. Agencies that are included in the Intelligence Community, as
identified in the National Security Act, 50 U.S.C. 3003, must maintain
information on trips by Senior Federal Officials and Non-Federal
Travelers, but the agencies are not required to report this information
to GSA. The information must be made available to Congress or any other
organization with the appropriate security clearance and oversight
responsibility upon request.
3. Agencies must maintain data on required-use of Government
aircraft, but are not required to submit this information to GSA. The
information must be made available to Congress or any other
organization with oversight responsibility upon request.
4. GSA will provide policies and reporting criteria to agencies
that authorize travel on Government aircraft and administer the annual
submission of a Senior Federal Travel Report to OMB.
c. Accounting for Aircraft Costs
The costs associated with agency aircraft programs must be
accumulated to: (1) Justify acquisitions needed to support the agency's
aviation program; (2) justify the use of Government aircraft in lieu of
commercially available aircraft, and the use of one Government aircraft
in lieu of another; (3) recover the costs of operating Government
aircraft when appropriate; and (4) determine the cost effectiveness of
various aspects of agency aircraft programs. To accomplish these
purposes, agencies must accumulate their aircraft program costs in
accordance with GSA's Aircraft Cost Accounting Guide. The remainder of
this section presents guidance for accomplishing each of these
purposes.
i. Justifying Aviation Program Acquisitions
When the Circular was revised in 1992, the principal OMB guidance
affecting agencies' aviation program acquisition choices was OMB
Circular A-76, ``Performance of Commercial Activities.'' Since that
time, OMB has developed more comprehensive guidance for agency use in
planning and justifying investments in capital assets, including
capital assets needed to support aviation programs. This guidance is
contained in OMB Circular A-11 and its supplement, the Capital
Programming Guide. Taken together, these two documents provide the
broad principles that agencies should use to establish capital planning
processes for their aviation programs. It is critical that agencies be
able to collect accurate costs for the acquisition and operation of all
assets that comprise their aviation programs, including non-aircraft
assets, where appropriate. These costs will be aggregated and presented
for budget justification purposes in formats that meet the overall
requirements of OMB Circular A-11 and are acceptable to the agencies'
OMB Resource Management Offices (RMOs). The Capital Programming Guide
requires agencies to consider OMB Circular A-76, as appropriate, when
evaluating investment alternatives; e.g., determining whether any
aviation program activities qualify as inherently Governmental
functions and justifying in-house operation of Government aircraft
versus procurement of CAS.
ii. Justifying Use of Government Aircraft.
Agencies that use Government aircraft to support recurring travel
between locations are encouraged to develop standard trip cost
justification schedules, and must ensure that the costs used for such
schedules are kept current. These schedules should summarize and
compare the projected costs of using one or more specific types of
agency aircraft (both owned and hired, as applicable) for travel
between selected locations to the costs of using commercial airline
service between those locations. Comparative costs for varying
passenger loads should also be shown. Agencies that choose to use this
approach should be able to see the minimum number of official travelers
needed to justify the use of a particular aircraft or aircraft type for
a trip between locations on the schedule. Agencies that are not able to
use such schedules are required to do a cost justification on a case by
case basis.
To make the cost comparisons necessary to justify the use of a
Government aircraft, the agency must compare the actual cost of using a
Government aircraft to the cost of using a commercial airline service.
The actual cost of using a Government aircraft is either: (a) The
amount that the agency will be charged by the organization (e.g.,
another agency or a CAS provider) that provides the aircraft, (b) the
variable cost of using the aircraft, if the agency operates its own
aircraft; or (c) the variable cost of using the aircraft as reported to
it by the owning agency, if the owning agency is not required to charge
for the use of its aircraft.
Agencies should develop a variable cost rate for each aircraft or
aircraft type (i.e., make and model) in their inventories before the
beginning of each fiscal year. These rates should be developed as
follows:
1. Accumulate or allocate to the aircraft or aircraft type all
historical costs (for the previous 12 months, or longer periods, as
appropriate) grouped under the variable cost category defined in GSA
regulations. These costs should be obtained from the agency's
accounting system.
2. Reduce or eliminate short-term data volatilities, as needed, by
factoring in or out seasonal, cyclic, and infrequent variable cost
components, such as engine overhauls and accident repairs, and
allocating those costs over time as appropriate.
3. Adjust the historical variable costs from Step 1 for inflation
and for any known upcoming cost changes to project the new variable
cost total. The inflation and escalation factors used must conform to
OMB Circulars A-11 and A-76, as appropriate.
4. Divide the total variable costs of the aircraft or aircraft type
by the flying hours corresponding to the historical data timeframe for
the aircraft or aircraft type to compute the projected variable cost or
usage rate (per flying hour).
To compute the variable cost of using an agency's own aircraft for
a proposed trip, multiply the variable cost rate computed in Step 4
(above) by the estimated number of flying hours for the trip. The
variable cost of using a Government aircraft for a trip should include,
as appropriate, all time required to position or reposition the
aircraft prior to and after the trip, if no follow-on trip is
scheduled. If a follow-on trip requires any repositioning time, it
should be charged with that time. If one aircraft mission (i.e., a
series of flights scheduled sequentially) supports multiple trips, the
use of the aircraft for the total mission may be justified by comparing
the actual cost of the entire
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mission to the commercial airline costs for all the component trips.
The cost of using commercial airline services for the purpose of
justifying the use of Government aircraft must:
1. Be the current Government contract fare or price or the lowest
fare or price known to be available for the trip(s) in question;
2. include, as appropriate, any differences in the costs of any
additional ground or air travel, per diem and miscellaneous travel
(e.g., taxis, parking, etc.), and lost employees' work time (computed
at gross hourly costs to the Government, including benefits) between
the two options; and
3. only include costs associated with passengers on official
business. Costs associated with passengers traveling on a space-
available basis may not be used in the cost comparison.
iii. Recovering Cost of Operation
Under the Economy Act of 1932, as amended, (31 U.S.C. 1535), and
various acts appropriating funds or establishing working funds to
operate aircraft, agencies are required to recover the costs of
operating their aircraft for use by other agencies, other governments
(e.g., state, local, or foreign), or non-official travelers. Depending
on the statutory authorities under which its aircraft were obtained or
are operated, an agency may use either of two methods for establishing
the rates charged for using its aircraft: (1) The full cost recovery
rate or (2), the variable cost recovery rate.
The full cost recovery rate for an aircraft is the sum of the
variable and fixed cost rates for that aircraft. The computation of the
variable cost rate for an aircraft or aircraft type is described under
paragraph 6.c.ii. Justifying Use of Government Aircraft. The fixed cost
rate for an aircraft or aircraft type is computed as follows:
1. Accumulate from the agency's accounting system (for the previous
12 months or longer, as appropriate) the fixed costs listed in GSA
Regulations that are directly attributable to the aircraft or aircraft
type (e.g., crew costs-fixed, maintenance costs-fixed, and aircraft
lease-fixed).
2. Adjust the historical fixed costs from Step 1 for inflation and
for any known upcoming cost changes, including contract price
adjustments, to project the new fixed cost total. The inflation and
escalation factors used must conform to OMB Circulars A-11 and A-76, as
appropriate.
3. Add to the adjusted historical fixed costs amounts representing
self-insurance costs and the annual depreciation or replacement costs,
as described in GSA regulations.
4. Allocate operations and administrative overhead costs to the
aircraft or aircraft type based on the percentage of total aircraft
program flying hours attributable to that aircraft or aircraft type.
5. Compute a fixed cost recovery rate for the aircraft or aircraft
type by dividing the sum of the projected directly attributable fixed
costs (from Step 3) and the allocated fixed costs (from Step 4) by the
annual flying hours projected for the aircraft or aircraft type.
6. To compute the full cost recovery rate of using a Government
aircraft for a trip, add the variable cost rate for the aircraft or
aircraft type to the corresponding fixed cost rate (computed in Step 5
above) and multiply the result by the estimated number of flying hours
for the trip using the proposed aircraft.
The variable cost recovery rate for an aircraft or aircraft type is
usually the same as the variable cost or usage rate described under
paragraph 6.c.ii. Justifying Use of Government Aircraft. In the event
that the requesting agency covers some of the costs included in the
variable cost recovery rate, e.g., fuel or crew costs, such costs are
not incurred by the servicing agency and should be subtracted from cost
recovery rate for that flight. If an agency decides to base the charge
for using its aircraft solely on the variable cost recovery rate, it
must recover the fixed costs of those aircraft from the appropriation
which supports the mission for which the procurement of the aircraft
was justified. In such cases, the fixed cost recovery rate may be
expressed on an annual, monthly or flying hour basis.
iv. Determining Aircraft Program Cost Effectiveness
Although cost effectiveness measures are not the only performance
indicators of the effectiveness of an agency's aircraft program, they
can be very useful in identifying opportunities to reduce aircraft
operational costs. These opportunities might include changing
maintenance practices, purchasing fuel at lower costs, and the
replacement of old, inefficient aircraft with aircraft that are more
fuel efficient and have lower operations and maintenance costs.
The most common measures used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of
various aspects of an aircraft program are expressed as the cost per
flying hour or per passenger mile for certain types of aircraft costs.
These measures may be developed using the Standard Aircraft Program
Cost Elements and include, but are not limited to: Maintenance costs/
flying hour, fuel and other fluids cost/flying hour, accident repair
costs/flying hour (or per aircraft), and variable cost/passenger mile.
In coordination with the Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy
(ICAP), GSA should assist in the development of aviation performance
indicators that agencies can use, within the context of their various
missions and unique operating environments, to assess the cost-
effective management of their aircraft.
7. Agency Responsibilities.
a. The head of each Executive Agency must issue the appropriate
internal agency directives to implement this Circular within 180 days
of its publication. These internal agency directives must include all
policies contained in this Circular that apply to the agency's use of
Government aircraft, and may contain additional policies unique to the
agency.
i. Agencies that own or hire aircraft must assure that their
internal directives comply with section 6.a. of this Circular.
ii. Agencies that use Government aircraft to support their travel
requirements must assure that their internal travel policies are
consistent with section 6.b. of this Circular.
b. The Secretaries of Defense and the uniformed services, the
Secretary of State and GSA must incorporate the applicable policies of
this Circular into the travel regulations that they publish for
uniformed service, foreign service, and civilian employees,
respectively. The necessary changes to these regulations should be
issued no later than 180 days from the date of this Circular.
c. GSA shall maintain an office to implement Government-wide
responsibilities for Government aviation program management that
include, but are not limited to, the following:
i. Organizing and maintaining an interagency committee composed of
Federal agency senior aviation management officials who advise the
Administrator of General Services on Government aircraft policy and
management.
ii. Coordinating the development of effectiveness measures, policy
recommendations, and guidance for the procurement, operation, safety,
and disposal of Government aircraft consistent with section 6.a. of
this Circular.
iii. Providing policy recommendations and guidance on the use of
Government aircraft to conduct official business.
iv. Operating a Government-wide information system to collect,
analyze, and report agency information on Government aircraft.
v. Developing and maintaining common, generic aircraft information
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system standards (i.e., data definitions and software specifications)
for agencies' use in developing their own internal aircraft information
systems and for routine and ad hoc reporting of their information to
GSA. These data definitions will also include aircraft program cost
element definitions and standards to account for aircraft costs
consistent with section 6.c. of this Circular.
vi. Providing to OMB and, upon request to Congress and other
official requestors, analytical reports of the information collected
and maintained in the Government-wide aircraft management information
system as well as information collected from agencies on an ad hoc
basis. Such reports should include, but not be limited to:
1. Aviation related reports that may be required by OMB and other
Executive guidance.
2. An annual aviation data set that includes an inventory of
agency-owned aircraft and the costs and flight hours associated with
each agency's flight operations performed by both agency-owned and CAS
aircraft.
3. Periodic reports on the utilization of the Exchange/Sale
Authority for aircraft and aircraft parts.
vii. Upon a Federal agency's request, conduct external audits,
surveys or reviews of Federal agency aviation programs to identify
weaknesses and/or to recommend improvements as needed to increase the
efficiency and the effectiveness, as well as to improve the safety
culture of Federal agency aviation programs.
viii. Reviewing agency aircraft policies for compliance with
Federal regulation and guidance as needed.
ix. Developing, coordinating and providing training, through
workshops and other means, to agency aviation professionals on aviation
safety, fleet modernization, and any other subjects approved by the
ICAP.
8. Reports to OMB. GSA will submit a Senior Federal Travel Report
to OMB annually. GSA will also submit the following items to OMB upon
request:
a. Aviation related reports.
b. Annual aviation data sets.
c. Exchange/Sale authority utilization reports.
9. Related Guidance. OMB Circular A-11 and its supplement the
Capital Programming Guide.
10. Effective Date. This Circular is effective upon publication.
11. Information Contact. All inquiries should be addressed to the
Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget,
telephone number (202) 395-1158.
[FR Doc. 2016-26464 Filed 11-1-16; 8:45 am]
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