Congress to Decide Fate of e-Travel The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved an amendment requiring opportunities for small businesses to participate in GSA’s e-Travel program. The amendment to the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill calls for at least 23% of e-Travel dollars to go to small travel agencies. The full Senate will vote on the bill after the August recess. The House went further when it voted last month to kill the e-Travel program over the objections of the Bush administration and Republican congressional leaders. The sponsor of the House amendment, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and other critics describe e-Travel as a bundled contract that shuts out small travel agencies. The final version of the bill will be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee this fall. One group of small travel agencies has been pushing to kill e-Travel, while another group, including subcontractors in the e-Travel program, want to keep it. GSA contends e-Travel will cut the government’s travel management costs by as much as 50% by having agencies hire one of three large vendors. The primes subcontract some work to small companies. Last year Congress adopted language urging GSA “to preserve that portion of the Federal travel agent business that is currently served by small businesses and local entrepreneurs.’’ Velazquez said the agency ignored Congress’s intent when it directed all agencies to use the e-Travel program. GSA awarded e-Travel contracts in November 2003 to EDS, CW Government Travel and Northrop Grumman Missions Systems and declared the program operational in May 2004. The three companies compete for each agency’s business in a deal worth up to $450 million over 10 years.