The General Services Administration (GSA) this week announced its FY 2003 Federal per diem rates for the continental United States to be effective October 1st, 2002.

For the 2003 per diems, GSA has added 13 new locations that had not previously received a separate per diem rate. Unchanged is the basic rate for areas not receiving a separate per diem rate, also known as the CONUS rate, which remains at $55 a night.

The most significant change for the 2003 rates is an increase in the allowance for meals and incidental expenses for many areas.

AH&LA continues to serve on the GSA Governmentwide Per Diem Advisory Board, which is charged with reviewing and making recommended improvements on the methodologies and policies GSA uses to establish federal per diem rates in the United States. The Per Diem Advisory Board has begun meeting and is expected to finish its review and make final recommendations to GSA by the end of the year.

For a copy of the 2003 per diem rates, contact Kevin Maher, AH&LA vice president of governmental affairs, at (202) 289-3147 or [email protected]. You may also obtain a copy at http://policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/perdiem/perd03d.html . Additional information on the federal per diem process can be found on AH&LA’s Web site at www.ahla.com.

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