1500 - TRAVEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Issuing Office: OFM 301-496-4379 or 301-402-8831
Release Date: 08/20/99

APPENDIX 4 - RECORDS RETENTION AND DISPOSAL and MANAGEMENT CONTROLS

Records Retention and Disposal

All records (e-mail and non-e-mail) pertaining to this chapter must be retained and disposed of under the authority of NIH Manual 1743, "Keeping and Destroying Records, Appendix 1, NIH Records Control Schedule," Section1500 Travel and Transportation. This section addresses records related to movement of persons under Government orders excluding: 1) Conference Planning requirements (see FAR Subpart 4.7) and 2) Patients’ Travel and Transportation (see Section 3000-E-41).

NIH e-mail messages

NIH e-mail messages (messages, including attachments, that are created on NIH computer systems or transmitted over NIH networks) that are evidence of the activities of the agency or have informational value are considered Federal records. These records must be maintained in accordance with current NIH Records Management guidelines. If necessary, back-up file capability should be created for this purpose. Contact your IC Records Officer for additional information.

All e-mail messages are considered Government property, and, if requested for a legitimate Government purpose, must be provided to the requester. Employees’ supervisors, NIH staff conducting official reviews or investigations, and the Office of Inspector General may request access to or copies of the e-mail messages. E-mail messages must also be provided to Congressional oversight committees if requested and are subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. Since most e-mail systems have back-up files that are retained for significant periods of time, e-mail messages and attachments are likely to be retrievable from a back-up file after they have been deleted from an individual’s computer. The back-up files are subject to the same requests as the original messages.

Management Controls

The purpose of this manual issuance is to provide information and guidance regarding NIH policies and procedures pertaining to official travel, its authorization and performance, and submission of claims for reimbursement of expenses. It is intended to assist civilian employees who are required to travel in the performance of their duties, as well as personnel responsible for the administration of travel regulations.

1. Office Responsible for Reviewing Management Controls Relative to this Chapter: Office of Financial Management/OD

   Through this manual issuance, the Immediate Office of the Assistant Director for Finance is accountable for the method used to ensure compliance with the delegations of authority for the functional areas of travel and the corresponding policies and procedures.

2. Frequency of Review : An ongoing review of various reports and information related to travel activities at NIH.

3. Method of Review: The ongoing review will be conducted by a task review group. The group will be responsible for establishing a checks and balance system that will include: identifying and testing risk area functions; an IC data retrieval process, and a monitoring schedule. Travel functional areas that will closely be examined include Sponsored Travel and Premium Class Travel. Sponsored Travel entails approximately 4,000 trips per year and constitutes both a sensitive and highly visible area of travel. The NIH must ensure that performance of this type of travel does not appear to be an augmentation of the budget, a solicitation of funds, or a conflict of interest. Premium Class Travel must be examined from an additional cost standpoint when compared to coach fare accommodations and must be monitored in terms of the frequency, timing, and justification supportive of each request.

4. Review Reports are sent to: The Deputy Director for Management and the Deputy CFO. Specific reporting requirements will include, but not be limited to, the annual report of Premium Class Accommodations and the semi-annual report of Cash or In-Kind (Sponsored Travel).