Legislation Aims to Reduce Feds’ Travel Expenses by Mandating Video Conferencing
Legislation Aims to Reduce Feds’ Travel Expenses by Mandating Video Conferencing by UCStrategies Staff
Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa) introduced H.R. 2643—the Stay in Place, Cut the Waste Act—as a means to minimize the travel expenses of federal agencies by implementing the use of video conferencing and teleworking technologies.
The bill requires the government to create a plan to decrease travel expenditure by up to 50 percent at the end of 2017 through the use of video conferencing solutions. This means federal agencies would be conducting meetings through video conferencing in lieu of paying for business-related travel expenses.
Fitzpatrick also indicated in the legislation that video conferencing technologies are mostly left untapped, even if it has been favored as the likeliest way to cut down agency travel expenses.
Mobile Work Exchange general manager Cindy Auten expressed her support for H.R. 2643. She pointed out that teleworking implementation saves both government money and time. “Managers are looking for ways to stay connected to their employees, regardless of where they are located,” Auten said. “Video is an efficient way to stay connected when email and phone just might not cut it. It adds back in the face-to-face collaboration. It’s a win-win. Leveraging the right technology can save agencies time and money.”
Meanwhile, Work Anywhere Nation’s Ryan Arba wrote that the bill’s requirement of video conferencing as replacement for business travel could be expanded to eliminate the need to travel every day to the Centralized Commuter Office (CCO). He said that pre-internet, the CCO culture in both the private and public sectors necessitated the commute of knowledge workers to a single location from nine to five during weekdays.
Arba also mentioned that certain business organizations now allow their employees to telecommute, while some have numerous work sites running across a large organization.
Arba concluded, “While technology can help move us into the post-CCO world, it can’t change the world in itself. The advances in technology must be accompanied by a shift in beliefs. If we still believe that “collaboration happens best face-to-face,” or that “employees are more productive in a CCO,” then the measures like H.R. 2643 may even create more waste (purchasing unused technology) than the bill proposes to eliminate.” (KOM) Link. Link.