President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a law that ensures federal
employees traveling on government business can be reimbursed for using Uber,
Lyft and other transportation network operators.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) introduced the Modernizing
Government Travel Act in January, and it passed the House that month. This
month, the bill cleared the Senate.
Already, the U.S. General Services Administration, which
oversees civilian travel programs, had given federal agencies the go-ahead to
reimburse for transportation network companies, according to a July 2016
bulletin. Then, the GSA permitted federal agencies to use such operators
"when advantageous to the government and permissible under local laws and
ordinances."
An April Senate report noted that this year's act
"codifies and reinforces the GSA’s existing policy to give certainty to
agency officials regarding what types of travel can be reimbursed."
The GSA "has historically reimbursed Federal employees
for official travel on traditional modes of transportation like a train or taxi
cab," according to the Senate report. As new transportation options have proliferated,
however, "Federal employees have lacked certainty about whether they can access
these platforms for official travel."
The law also affords reimbursement for other transportation
options used for government travel. The Senate report referenced bike-sharing
programs, for example. The law also clears any other “innovative mobility
technology company,” defined as an organization “that applies technology to
expand and enhance available transportation choices, better manages demand for
transportation services, or provides alternatives to driving alone."
The law also added requirements for reporting on
travel. Each year, the head of each federal agency must submit to the GSA
administrator a report covering the agency's total travel spend, average trip cost
and duration and purposes for employee travel. Those reports will be made
public.