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The U.S. Defense Department has ordered a freeze on all large-scale conferences and conference-related travel, pending a sweeping review that aims to cut travel costs across the department.
The order, signed on June 3 by Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, orders the military service chiefs to review all upcoming conferences costing more than $100,000 to ensure that they “significantly further the Department’s mission.”
“Each component or service shall suspend incurring any new obligations for conferences to which it is not yet committed until it has completed its review,” Carter wrote.
Conferences expected to cost more than $100,000 will require approval from top Pentagon officials, according to the memo.
The memo follows a directive from President Obama in May calling on all federal agencies to reduce travel costs by 30 percent for fiscal 2013.
