Policy
Directive
Effective Date: May 08, 2013
Expiration Date: October 30, 2028
|
|
NASA Policy Directive |
NPD 9710.1W Effective Date: May 08, 2013 Expiration Date: October 30, 2028 |
Chg # |
Date |
Description/Comments |
|
1 |
10/03/2018 |
Revalidated to incorporate NPR 1400.1 requirements and the following changes:
Updated P4 Applicable Documents and Forms with correct title references for NPD 1030I and NPR 9710 and included additional NPR reference (9790.1). Updated P5 Responsibility with correct NPR title reference. Updated P8 Cancellation with correct NPD reference and expiration date. Updated Attachment A Definitions to correct NPR and NPD acronyms. Updated Attachment B References with correct title for NPD 1000.3E and NPR 3410.2G. |
|
2 |
10/06/2023 |
Revalidated to incorporate NPR 1400.1 requirements and the following changes:
Updated Title Appendix A. to Title Attachment A. Updated Title Appendix B. to Title Attachment B. Updated P.4 to remove c., and d.. |
a. It is NASA's policy that:
(1) Officials authorize and approve travel and transportation only when officially justified to meet essential mission requirements effectively and economically, consistent with good management practices.
(2) Travel authorizations are issued before expenses are incurred.
(3) All travel will be authorized by appropriate officials designated in Paragraph 6 of this directive or through their redelegations, as permitted.
(4) Except for the officials listed in Paragraphs 6.a and 6.b, travel will be authorized and approved by an official at least one organizational level above the traveler. This also applies to travel on Government aircraft.
(5) No subordinate is authorized to approve the travel of his or her own supervisor.
b. This NASA Policy Directive (NPD) addresses only Temporary Duty Travel (TDY), which is comprised of local, continental U.S. (CONUS), foreign, non-foreign, actual subsistence, extended temporary duty, and invitational travel for both direct and reimbursable funds (See the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) Index for definitions.
a. This NPD is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers.
b. In this directive, all mandatory actions (i.e., requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term "shall. " The terms: "may" or "can" denote discretionary privilege or permission, "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended, but not required, "will" denotes expected outcome, and "are/is" denotes descriptive material.
c. In this directive, the term "authorize" is a pre-travel action pertaining to travel authorizations/orders and the term "approve" is a post-travel action pertaining to travel vouchers.
d. In this directive, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.
The National Aeronautics and Space Act, as amended, 51 U.S.C. § 20113 (a).
a. Acceptance of Travel and Related Expenses from Non-Federal Sources, 31 U.S.C. § 1353
b. Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), 41 CFR pts. 300-304.
c. NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 9710.1, General Travel Requirements.
a. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer is responsible for ensuring the implementation of this directive.
b. Authorizing and approving officials are responsible for the following:
(1) Complying with FTR 41 CFR pts. 300-304, and NPR 9710.1, General Travel Requirements.
(2) Establishing controls to ensure that only travel essential to the purposes of the Government and for accomplishing the Agency's mission effectively and economically is authorized or approved.
c. Authorizing officials are responsible for the following:
(1) Being aware of travel plans, including plans to take annual leave in conjunction with travel.
(2) Ensuring appropriate consideration of the need for the travel, the use of travel substitutes (e.g., mail, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing), and the most cost-effective routing and means of accomplishing the travel.
(3) Authorizing each employee's travel separately.
d. The Office of International and Interagency Relations coordinates all foreign TDY in accordance with NPR 9710.1.
e. Any travel for which travel and related expenses or in-kind benefits are accepted from non-Federal sources under 31 U.S.C. § 1353, also known as reimbursable or sponsored travel, require concurrence by, as appropriate, the Office of the General Counsel or the Center Chief Counsel (or by the Counsel to the Inspector General, for the Office of Inspector General reimbursable TDY agreements).
f. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer at each Center reviews all travel expenses or in-kind benefits accepted from non-Federal sources under 31 U.S.C. § 1353.
a. The Administrator and the Inspector General (or an official serving in such position in an "acting" capacity) may authorize and approve his or her own foreign and domestic TDY and the foreign and domestic TDY of all others Agency wide.
b. Officials in the following positions (or officials serving in such positions in an "acting" capacity) may authorize and approve their own domestic TDY: Deputy Administrator, Associate Administrator, Chief of Staff, Associate Deputy Administrator, Associate Deputy Administrator for Strategy and Policy, Associate Administrators for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Science Mission Directorate, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Space Technology Mission Directorate, Mission Support Directorate, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Scientist, Chief Technologist, Chief Engineer, Chief Health and Medical Officer, Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance, and Center Directors. Foreign travel of the officials identified in Section 6.b must be authorized and approved by their immediate supervisors or above. The officials identified in Section 6.b may both authorize and approve the TDY of all others within their management/supervisory area of responsibility, subject to the provisions of this NPD.
c. For NASA employees on detail to other NASA offices, the authorizing and approving official is the head of the office funding the detailee's travel.
d. The only employees who may approve their own domestic vouchers are the officials identified in 6.a and 6.b. Vouchers for foreign travel of the officials identified in 6.b are approved by their immediate supervisors or above.
e. Authority to approve one's own voucher will not be redelegated beyond the officials listed in Section 6.b for domestic travel and Section 6.a for foreign travel.
f. Each official listed in sections 6.a and 6.b has discretion to redelegate appropriately the authority to authorize and approve TDY of all others within the official's management/supervisory area of responsibility. The Deputy Administrator and Associate Administrator also have discretion to redelegate appropriately the authority to authorize and approve TDY to the following: Chief of Staff and the Associate Deputy Administrators. No further redelegations are permitted.
(1) Redelegations will be in writing and not exceed 12 months.
(2) Electronic signatures of the delegating and receiving officials are maintained in the travel management system.
None.
NPD 9710.1V, To Authorize or Approve Temporary Duty Travel on Official Business and Related Matters, dated December 9, 2009.
Revalidated on October 6, 2023
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CONUS Continental United States
FTR Federal Travel Regulation
NPD NASA Policy Directive
NPR NASA Procedural Requirement
TDY Temporary Duty Travel
U.S.C. United States Codes
B.1 Acceptance of travel and related expenses from a Non-Federal Source, 31 U.S.C. § 1353.
B.2 Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 CFR. pt. 2635.
B.3 NPD 1000.3, The NASA Organization.
B.4 NPD 1030.1 Gifts or Decorations from Foreign Governments to Foreign Individuals.
B.5 NPD 3410.2, Employee and Organization Development.
B.6 NPR 9790.1, Payment of Travel Expense from a Non-Federal Source.
None.
This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.