Washington, D.C. – April 28, 2016 – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) applauded the passage of an AH&LA-backed amendment out of the House Armed Services Committee that would repeal the per diem rate cuts instituted by the Department of Defense for uniform and civilian employees on long-term travel, or temporary duty (TDY), in December 2014. The amendment would restore the per diem rates to the reasonable levels they were at before the cuts.

“We applaud the House Armed Services Committee for passing an important amendment out of committee to restore a reasonable approach to travel policy,” said AH&LA’s Vice President of Government Affairs Craig Kalkut. “On behalf of the U.S. hotel industry, and particularly the many hotels that cater to military bases and communities, we commend Congressman Mark Takai on his steadfast leadership in seeking to put an end to these ill-conceived cuts to travel per diem rates for Defense Department personnel. These cuts have made it challenging for hotels to provide appropriate levels of service to military travelers, caused hardships to workers, and in certain cases, actually increased costs to the military while jeopardizing its ability to adequately perform critical functions.” 

Background:

Since the Department of Defense instituted this policy, these per diem reductions have damaged our military readiness, and, ironically, are actually costing taxpayer money instead of saving it in certain cases. Further, the cuts have imposed hardships on military personnel and made it difficult for hotels catering to military communities to serve Defense Department workers. AH&LA helped lead a broad coalition of industry and employee groups to encourage Members of Congress for a repeal of the per diem cuts through an extensive campaign of grassroots outreach and meetings on Capitol Hill.
 

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Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the 1.9 million-employee U.S. lodging industry, including hotel owners, REITs, chains, franchisees, management companies, independent properties, state hotel associations, and industry suppliers. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AH&LA provides focused advocacy, communications support, and educational resources for an industry of more than 53,000 properties generating $176 billion in annual sales from 5 million guestrooms.