GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CHARGE CARD

Leaders, I am sending this email as a request for your assistance.  I took over as the Finance Officer of the Marine Forces Reserve Finance Office just 4 months ago.  Since then, I have identified an absurd amount of erroneous split disbursements that is a huge hindrance to your commands and your Marines.  These errors are not the fault of the Finance Office as the below MarAdmin is the legal mandate governing split disbursement on travel vouchers.  The primary reason for this high level of erroneous split disbursements is a result of limited knowledge on the subject. 

SUMMARY:  If a member is identified on his/her orders as a GTCC holder, the Finance Office is REQUIRED to conduct a mandatory split disbursement of all rental car, lodging, and commercial transportation (par 5 below).  The only exception to this requirement is outlined in paragraph 4 below.  This means that commanders MUST provide an individual exception endorsement for each travel claim in which a member is attempting to split an amount less than the mandatory split.  All too often, your Marines' orders state that they are GTCC holders when they are not and this office is following the regulations and splitting the funds to Citibank.  When this erroneous action occurs, it takes as much as 90 days to recover the funds and we cannot pay your Marines until the funds are returned from Citibank.

I am asking that you each of you pass this information to your lowest level commander's and Admin personnel so that they take the extra effort of ensuring that these exception endorsements are provided by the commander when a lesser split disbursement amount is elected.  Thank you in advance for your time and support.

R/S

CWO4 Doug Hoelscher

Finance Officer

Marine Forces Reserve

4400 Dauphine St

New Orleans, LA 70146

504-678-6541

DN 678

MANDATORY SPLIT DISBURSING FOR TRAVELER USING THE GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CHARGE CARD (GTCC) 

Date Signed: 11/6/2003 

MARADMIN  Active  Number: 515/03 

R 061600Z NOV 03

FM CMC WASHINGTON DC(uc)

TO AL MARADMIN(uc)

MARADMIN

BT

UNCLASSIFIED

MARADMIN 515/03

MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC/RFF//

SUBJ/MANDATORY SPLIT DISBURSING FOR TRAVELER USING THE GOVERNMENT

TRAVEL CHARGE CARD (GTCC)//

REF/A/OSD MEMORANDUM DTD/23APR2003//

REF/B/PUBLIC LAW 107-314//

REF/C/MLA2002//

REF/D/PUBLIC LAW 105-264/TRA AND TRANS REFORM ACT OF/1998//

REF/E/DOD FINANCIAL/MANAGEMENT REGULATION VOL.9//

REF/F/MCO 4600.40A//

NARR/REF A IS THE MEMORANDUM FROM THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DTD 23 APR 03. 

REF B IS THE BOB STUMP NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003. 

REF C IS THE MASTER LABOR AGREEMENT (MLA) BETWEEN THE MARINE CORPS AND CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES. 

REF D IS THE TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION REFORM ACT OF 1998. 

REF E IS THE DOD FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION VOLUME 9, CHAPTER 3.

REF F IS THE REVISED MARINE CORPS ORDER DTD 13 MAY 02 ON THE GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CHARGE CARD PROGRAM.

RMKS/1.  REF A IMPLEMENTS A RECENT STATUTORY CHANGE, REF B, THAT MANDATES SPLIT DISBURSEMENT FOR ALL MILITARY GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CHARGE CARD (GTCC) ACCOUNT HOLDERS.  REF C MANDATES SPLIT DISBURSEMENT FOR ALL CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CHARGE CARD (GTCC) ACCOUNT HOLDERS WHO ARE PART OF A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNIT OR STATIONED AT HQMC.  SPLIT DISBURSEMENT IS A MECHANISM TO PAY THE GTCC ACCOUNT DIRECTLY AS PART OF THE TRAVEL SETTLEMENT PROCESS. THIS ACTION IS INTENDED TO REDUCE DELINQUENCY.

2.  REFS D, E AND F REQUIRE MANDATORY USE OF THE GTCC FOR ALL DOD PERSONNEL FOR EXPENSES ARISING FROM OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT TRAVEL UNLESS SPECIFICALLY EXEMPTED BY REF E.

3.  REF B DIRECTS THAT ALL TEMPORARY DUTY TRAVEL ORDERS INCLUDE A STATEMENT IDENTIFYING THE TRAVELER AS A GTCC HOLDER OR NOT AND WHETHER THE TRAVELER IS EXEMPT FROM USE OF THE GTCC.  REF B ALSO CONTAINS A LIST OF EXPENSES EXEMPT FROM GTCC USE AND THOSE EXPENSES THAT ARE NON-EXEMPT FROM GTCC USE.

4.  SPECIFIC EXCEPTIONS TO THIS POLICY CONCERNING THE AMOUNT TO BE SPLIT DISBURSED, ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS, ARE LEFT TO THE DISCRETION OF THE COMMANDER.  ANY EXCEPTION AUTHORIZED BY THE COMMANDER MUST BE DOCUMENTED AND BE INCLUDED WITH THE TRAVEL VOUCHER WHEN IT IS SUBMITTED TO THE DISBURSING/ FINANCE OFFICER FOR PAYMENT.  FAILURE TO UTILIZE THE GTCC DUE TO PERSONAL CONVENIENCE IS NOT GROUNDS TO GRANT AN EXCEPTION PER REF D AND F.

5.  EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ALL TRAVELERS WHOSE ORDERS IDENTIFY THEM AS GTCC HOLDERS AND NOT EXEMPT FROM USE OF THE GTCC WILL HAVE THEIR RENTAL CAR, LODGING AND COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES PAID DIRECTLY TO THE BANK THAT ISSUED THE GTCC.  IF THE TRAVELER DESIRES TO HAVE AN AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF THESE EXPENSES PAID DIRECTLY TO THE BANK THAT ISSUED GTCC, THE TRAVELER MUST NOTE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF

DEPOSIT IN BLOCK 1 OF THE DD FORM 1351-2.

6.  EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ORDER ISSUING/APPROVING OFFICIALS AND SUPERVISORS WILL ENSURE THAT TRAVEL VOUCHERS ACCURATELY REFLECT THE CHARGES TO BE DISBURSED DIRECTLY TO THE BANK THAT ISSUED THE GTCC.

ADDITIONALLY, THE APPROVING OFFICIAL OR SUPERVISOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN AND DATE THE VOUCHER CERTIFYING THE VOUCHER AS CORRECT PER REF E AND RETURN INCOMPLETE/ERRONEOUSLY COMPLETED VOUCHERS TO THE

TRAVELER.  THE DISBURSING OFFICER/FINANCE OFFICER WILL SPLIT DISBURSE THE NON-EXEMPT EXPENSES OR THE AMOUNT ANNOTATED IN BLOCK 1, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

7.  POC FOR QUESTIONS CONCERNING CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES IS MS. MICHELLE NERENG, DSN 278-9382, EMAIL NERENGMZ@MANPOWER.USMC.MIL