The Defense Travel System: Boon or Boondoggle?

This Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Travel System (DTS) is part of its continuing investigation of DOD’s travel policies and practices. The DTS was intended to be a seamless integrated computer-based travel system that would facilitate travel for DOD employees and lead to increased efficiency and substantial cost savings. However, reports by the DOD Inspector General, the DOD Program Analysis and Evaluation Division, the Government Accountability Office, The Corporate Solutions Group and Citizens Against Government Waste have questioned whether DTS is effective and provides a cost benefit to DOD. These reports indicate that DTS has cost more than was anticipated, has not been fully deployed, does not appear to be widely used, does not list all available airfares and may end up costing more than it has saved. The questions raised by these reports remain largely unanswered by DOD. This hearing explored whether DTS can deliver on the increased efficiency and cost savings that were anticipated when the program was established.