The follow message was received by the Joint Federal Travel Regulation committee. An OCCFM staff member regularly attends these meetings on behalf of the officers of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps).

• 
  The General Services Administration's (GSA) Office of Government wide Policy announces that the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 per diem reimbursement rates are now available on our website at http://www.gsa.gov/perdiem. The rates will be effective October 1, 2011.
  
  In order to see the FY 2012 rates, select 2012 from the dropdown box above the map of the United States. On Oct. 1, 2011, the default setting in the dropdown box will change to FY 2012.
  
  GSA has the responsibility for establishing the per diem rates that Federal agencies use to reimburse their Federal travelers for expenses incurred while on official travel within the continental United States (CONUS).
  
  We continue to use the industry-based Average Daily Rate, a widely accepted lodging-industry measure, to establish lodging rates in each non-standard area (NSA). This data is obtained through a leading provider of hotel lodging industry data. As in prior years, we continue to use mid-price properties in areas where the majority of Federal travelers stay. More detailed information regarding our methodology can be found at gsa.gov/perdiem.
  
  Overall, the NSA lodging rates are similar to FY 2011 as most rates did not increase or decrease more than $5. The standard CONUS lodging rate, which applies to approximately 2,600 counties, remains the same at $77.
  
  The meal and incidental expense (M&IE) portion of the per diem allowance also remains the same and ranges from $46 to $71.
  
  If you have questions, please feel free to contact travelpolicy@gsa.gov. We’re also on Twitter! Please join the conversation at www.twitter.com/GSAtravelpolicy.