Governmentwide Relocation Advisory Board (GRAB)

Background

On July 9, 2004, a Charter was filed in Congress establishing the Board. The Board was governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Public Law 92-463). The Board's mission was to review the existing policies promulgated through the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) for relocation and associated reimbursements and allowances for federal relocating employees in the continental United States (CONUS).  And upon its review recommend improvements for better management of governmentwide relocation and provide GSA with advice regarding relocation best practices.

Board's Report

On September 21, 2005, Becky Rhodes, former Deputy Associate Administrator for the General Services Administration's (GSA), Office Governmentwide Policy, received the Governmentwide Relocation Advisory Board's report titled "Findings and Recommendations."  This report heralds the Board's fourteen month foray into the federal government's relocation processes and contains a total of 111 recommendations in the areas of:  budget data and tracking, residence transactions, relocation reimbursements, transportation and storage, and administration and management.

Update: Final Rule - FTR Amendment

GSA’s relocation policy experts analyzed the GRAB regulatory changes and created a proposed rule, which was published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2007 (72 FR 43216). GSA then combined the Relocation Best Practices Committee (RBPC) proposed rule and the GRAB proposed rule into one final rule. This final rule which was published in the Federal Register on April 1, 2011 (76 FR 18326) and will be effective on August 1, 2011, implements many of the changes sought by both proposed rules.

The shortcut to this page is www.gsa.gov/grab.