How Government Travel Per Diems Waste Billions on Mediocre Hotels

The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending · Jul 13, 2026 · 11m · transcript

Episode 109 of The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo takes a hard look at the U.S. government's travel per diem system. Lucas and Luna break down how outdated lodging rates force federal employees into overpriced hotels, costing taxpayers an estimated $2 billion annually in excess spending. They trace the problem back to the General Services Administration's reliance on a decades-old reimbursement model that ignores dynamic pricing and corporate negotiation. The episode features a detailed case study of a single audit from the Government Accountability Office in 2023, which found…