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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today urged the General Services Administration (GSA) to raise the mileage reimbursement rate for federal employees who use their personal vehicles on government business immediately and make it retroactive to July 1.

In an electronic message to NTEU and other federal stakeholders sent this week, GSA said it is proposing to match the adjusted IRS rate and is seeking input on that proposal. GSA sets the rate for federal employees but its figure cannot exceed the maximum allowed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for a business deduction.

In a June 24 letter to GSA Acting Administrator David Bibb—one day after the IRS raised the reimbursement rate by eight cents, to 58.5 cents per mile, for the balance of this year for such use of a personal vehicle—NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley called on him to announce immediately a like increase for federal employees.

“The soaring cost of gas, and an insufficient reimbursement rate, means that federal employees who drive their personal vehicles as part of their government duties are subsidizing the government when they travel on official business,” said President Kelley. “Any further delay in providing some relief to these employees is simply unfair.”

NTEU is supporting legislation that would change the rate-setting process which currently requires GSA to take numerous steps before matching the IRS rate. “This process is broken and NTEU is supporting efforts that would remove this barrier and automatically adjust the federal mileage reimbursement rate to the IRS rate,” Kelley said.

This is the second delay this year federal employees have faced with the mileage reimbursement rate. In November of 2007 the IRS announced that the rate for business deductions would be increased on Jan. 1, 2008, to 50.5 cents per mile from 48.5 cents. NTEU immediately alerted GSA to the pending increase and asked it to take the steps necessary so federal employees would have the same increase on Jan 1.

Then, as now, GSA action was delayed and the rate for federal employees was not raised to 50.5 cents until March 19.

“Federal employees who voluntarily use their own cars to get the job done deserve better,” said President Kelley.

Tens of thousands of federal employees, including a great many represented by NTEU at the IRS and financial regulatory agencies, routinely use their personal vehicles in the performance of their duties. Some drive their personal vehicles as many as 35,000 miles a year on government business.