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<br /> <br />002601 <br /> <br />TWO POSITION PAPER <br /> <br />PAYMENT FOR ATTENDANCE AT TECHNICAL WORK OROUP (TWO) MEETINOS <br /> <br />Background: In the September 10 and II, 1997 Adaptive Management Work Oroup (AMWO) <br />Meeting it was agreed to form the TWO as a subgroup of the AMWG. As an official subgroup <br />of a Federal Advisory Committee the TWO is subject to the same laws and rules as the AMWG, <br />except a charter and appointment of members by the Secretary of the Interior is not needed. A <br />question arose in the TWG meeting concerning payment for attendance at the TWO meetings the <br />same as the AMWG. Discussion in the December TWG meeting indicated that some TWO <br />members, for financial hardship reasons (approximately 3-4), would like to be paid for travel and <br />perdiem. <br /> <br />Issue: The law allows for payment of travel and perdiem to subgroup members the same as it <br />does for the parent group members. However, payment is at the Department/Agency discretion <br />subject to funds availability. We have received requests for reimbursement for expenses of <br />approximately $3,000 for the AMWG meeting in September. If the assumptions are: the $3,000 <br />is a reasonable amount and the TWG would meet 10 months of the year, the total annual funding <br />need would be approximately $30,000. No funds have been programmed in the 1998 budget for <br />TWO attendance. To encourage tribal participation in the TWG process Reclamation committed <br />to fund from it's appropriations attendance of one tribal member for each participating tribe. <br />This decision was made based upon the understanding at the time that payment was not allowed <br />to subgroup members. Any amount to fund attendance would require reprogramming of funds <br />within the existing budget and either increase overhead or reduce monitoring and research funds. <br /> <br />Recommendation: The AMWG should consider reimbursement of travel and perdiem to <br />appointed members or official alternates, upon request, for attendance at TWO meetings. Funds <br />should be reprogrammed from existing budgeted amounts. If the AMWO chooses not to <br />recommend funding, Reclamation will continue to fund on a year to year basis from it's <br />appropriations tribal attendance, subject to finds availability. <br />