Three weeks prior to appropriations lapse, contingency plans for travel during an appropriations lapse will be briefed to DCD by the Travel Office.  Immediately following the briefing, guidance will be emailed to all DTS Authorizing Officials by the Travel Office.

Greetings,

In the event a Department of Defense Appropriations Bill or Continuing Resolution is not approved before the current appropriation expires [DATE, TIME], travelers are required to return to NPS immediately or as soon as practicable. 

As a result of this “Government Shutdown” the following guidance applies:

• Travelers may NOT execute travel that would occur on or after the date the appropriation expires unless or until a new appropriation is approved or written guidance authorizing your travel is issued. 

To ensure travelers do not incur penalties:

• Contact SATO at 855-744-4659 to ensure there are no penalties if flights are cancelled.  If there are penalties, please have the traveler work with SATO to see if the flights can be rescheduled for a later date or if there are other provisions that would avoid incurring those penalties.  These cases should be limited to international flights and restricted airfare.  Government fares should be fully refundable so it is not recommended that reservations be cancelled, except to avoid penalties.

• Contact any hotels traveler have reservations with to see what their cancellation policy is.  It is recommended that any reservations that would incur cancellation fees not be made.

• If a person is on travel and a shutdown occurs , travelers are required to contact SATO at 855-744-4659 and make arrangements to immediately return home.  Use of his/her GTCC is required.  Travel expenses incurred in the return are properly-incurred obligations of the agency as part of the agency’s orderly-shutdown activities.  Invitational travel affected by the shutdown are to be cancelled and/or rescheduled to be completed before the current appropriation expires or to be executed once the new appropriation is passed.

For any questions, please consult the NPS Travel Office website at www.nps.edu/travel.

Two weeks prior to an appropriations lapse, the Travel Office will run Traveler Status and Departure Status reports daily in DTS.  Based on those reports, the Travel Office will send notifications to individuals with travel that would be affected by an appropriations lapse.

Greetings,

In the event a Department of Defense Appropriations Bill or Continuing Resolution is not approved before the current appropriation expires at (DATE, TIME), you are required to return to NPS immediately or as soon as practicable. 

As a result of this “Government Shutdown” the following guidance applies:

• You may NOT execute travel that would occur on or after the date the appropriation expires unless or until a new appropriation is approved or written guidance authorizing your travel is issued. 

To ensure you do not incur penalties:

• Contact SATO at 855-744-4659 to ensure there are no penalties if your flights are cancelled.  If there are penalties, please work with SATO to see if the flights can be rescheduled for a later date or if there are other provisions that would have you avoid incurring those penalties.  These cases should be limited to international flights and restricted airfare.  Government fares should be fully refundable so it is not recommended that reservations be cancelled, except to avoid penalties.

• Contact any hotels you have reservations with to see what their cancellation policy is.  It is recommended that any reservations that would incur cancellation fees not be made.

• If you are on travel and a shutdown occurs , you are required to contact SATO at 855-744-4659 and make arrangements to immediately return home.  Use of your GTCC is required.  Travel expenses incurred in the return are properly-incurred obligations of the agency as part of the agency’s orderly-shutdown activities.  Invitational travel affected by the shutdown are to be cancelled and/or rescheduled to be completed before the current appropriation expires or to be executed once the new appropriation is passed.

For any questions, please consult the NPS Travel Office website at www.nps.edu/travel.

The Travel Office will run a Traveler Status and Departure Status report in DTS to compile a roster of individuals currently on official travel. Notifications will be sent to individuals who are on travel at the time orderly-shutdown activities begin with a copy to the Comptroller, Chief of Staff, and Travel Officer.

Greetings:

Due to a lapse in federal funding, employees have been furloughed.  As a result of this “Government Shutdown” the following guidance applies:

• You are to facilitate an immediate termination of your travel and return home. Call SATO at 855-744-4659 and make arrangements to immediately return home.  Use of your GTCC is required.

To ensure you do not incur penalties:

• You are to contact SATO at 855-744-4659 to ensure there are no penalties if your flights are changed or cancelled.  If there are penalties, please work with SATO to see if the flights can be rescheduled for a later date or if there are other provisions that would have you avoid incurring those penalties. 

• You are to contact any hotels you are currently using or have reservations with to see what their cancellation policy is.  It is recommended that any reservations that would incur cancellation fees be cancelled and re-booked once an appropriation is approved.

For any questions, please consult the NPS Travel Office website at www.nps.edu/travel.

Greetings:

Due to a lapse in federal funding, employees have been furloughed.  As a result of this “Government Shutdown”:

• You are to cancel your travel authorization in DTS immediately, citing the appropriations lapse as the reason for the cancellation.

To ensure you do not incur penalties:

• You are to contact SATO at 855-744-4659 to ensure there are no penalties if your flights are cancelled.  If there are penalties, please work with SATO to see if the flights can be rescheduled for a later date or if there are other provisions that would have you avoid incurring those penalties. 

• You are to contact any hotels you have reservations with to see what their cancellation policy is.  It is recommended that any reservations that would incur cancellation fees be cancelled and re-booked once an appropriation is approved.

• You may reschedule your travel once an appropriation has been passed to reopen the Government.

For any questions, please consult the NPS Travel Office website at www.nps.edu/travel.

Traveler gets approval from his/her Approving Official for variations to TDY dates citing the appropriations lapse as the cause for return.  Travel claim will be submitted with amendments within five working days. 

Travel expenses incurred in the return are properly-incurred obligations of the agency as part of the agency’s orderly-shutdown activities and are to be handled separately and charged to a unique JON.  The supervisor is to provide the appropriate JON to charge for these expenses.

Any traveler who begins travel when instructed not to, or who does not return from official travel during an appropriations lapse when instructed to do so, will be referred to the Chief of Staff and Staff Judge Advocate for review and action, as appropriate. 

Expenses incurred due to the above actions by the traveler  during the period of the appropriation lapse will be borne by the traveler.

Traveler must process a Trip Cancellation with fees incurred IAW DTS Best Practices.  Traveler must make every effort to reverse any cancellation fees assessed, citing the “government shutdown” as the reason for the cancellation.

Fees that will not be reversed must be documented to show every effort was made, and the traveler must have approval from his/her Approving Official for the expenses incurred IAW the JTR.  These fees are not be included in the travel voucher. The supervisor is to provide the appropriate JON to charge for these fees.    

No action necessary.

Any traveler wishing to take a trip that was cancelled or complete a trip that was curtailed due to an appropriations lapse must submit a new travel authorization in DTS for approval.