[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5957 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5957
To require that any local currencies used to provide per diems to
Members and employees of Congress for official foreign travel for a
fiscal year be obtained by Congress and paid for using funds
appropriated for salaries and expenses of Congress for the fiscal year,
to enhance the disclosure of information on official foreign travel of
Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2010
Mr. Johnson of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to
the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require that any local currencies used to provide per diems to
Members and employees of Congress for official foreign travel for a
fiscal year be obtained by Congress and paid for using funds
appropriated for salaries and expenses of Congress for the fiscal year,
to enhance the disclosure of information on official foreign travel of
Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional
Foreign Travel Reform Act of 2010''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The 56-year-old Mutual Security Act governs the current
procedures and reporting requirements associated with the
expending of foreign currencies for foreign travel by members
of Congress and their staffs.
(2) A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS)
memorandum finds that ``there are no requirements regarding the
disclosure of international travel by Members of Congress or
their staffs that contain records of all international travel
that might be taken.''.
(3) This memorandum also finds that--
(A) the current travel disclosure requirements
``may be of limited utility'' when trying to assess the
amount Congress spends on foreign travel;
(B) some foreign travel disclosures ``. . .
identify annual expenditures for an entity, rather than
quarterly,'' as is required by the law;
(C) some disclosures contain ``. . . typographical
and mathematics errors'';
(D) the current disclosure requirements for
Congressional foreign travel ``. . . might raise
questions about the accuracy of reported destinations,
participants or expenditures''; and
(E) the current reporting requirements for
Congressional foreign travel ``. . . may reduce the
suitability and reliability'' of the following data:
``number of trips taken, number of congressional
travelers, destinations and the number of times a
destination was visited, purposes of travel, benefits
of travel and the extent of expenditures for
congressional travel.''.
(4) In April 2010 Roll Call reported that these travel ``.
. . accommodations are made by the State Department and billed
back to a government account that automatically refills itself
and has no spending limit attached.''.
(5) In March 2010 the Wall Street Journal reported that
while congressional rules require any unused per diem received
for congressional travel must be paid back, this rule is rarely
followed.
(6) The ``Questions and Answers'' section of the Official
Foreign Travel Guide for the U.S. Congress advises Members of
Congress that they ``. . . may keep any `excess' funds'' from a
per diem allowance.
(7) The CRS memorandum finds that from the only public
available records on Congressional foreign travel, the House of
Representatives went from spending $1,557,162 on foreign travel
in 1994 to $9,303,709 in 2009, and that the amount the House
has spent on travel has nearly doubled since 2006. Furthermore,
these amounts do not take into account the use of military
aircraft.
(8) In June 2010 Roll Call reported that ``Members of
Congress routinely fail to report millions of dollars' worth of
costs . . . on foreign trips'', and that the ``total spent on
foreign travel has skyrocketed in the past decade.''
SEC. 2. REQUIRING CONGRESS TO OBTAIN AND PAY FOR LOCAL CURRENCIES USED
TO PROVIDE PER DIEMS TO MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES OF CONGRESS
ON OFFICIAL FOREIGN TRAVEL.
(a) Obtaining and Paying for Local Currency Per Diems for Members
and Employees on Official Foreign Travel.--
(1) In general.--The House of Representatives and Senate
may obtain local currencies of foreign nations for the purpose
of providing a per diem allowance to a Member, officer, or
employee of the House of Representatives or Senate who is on
official foreign travel, if the individual obtains an
authorization under paragraph (2) to receive such an allowance.
(2) Authorization described.--An individual wishing to
receive a per diem allowance under paragraph (1) shall obtain
an authorization--
(A) from the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, in the case of a Member, officer, or
employee of the House;
(B) from the chairman of a standing or select
committee of the House of Representatives, in the case
of a member or employee of that committee;
(C) from the President of the Senate, the President
pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the
Senate, or the minority leader of the Senate, in the
case of a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate;
(D) from the chairman of a standing, select, or
special committee of the Senate, in the case of a
member or employee of that committee or of an employee
of a member of that committee; and
(E) from the chairman of a joint committee of the
Congress, in the case of a member or employee of that
committee.
(3) Limit on amount.--The amount of local currency provided
for the use of an individual under this subsection may not
exceed--
(A) the equivalent of $75 per day per person; or
(B) the maximum per diem allowance established
under the authority of subchapter I of chapter 57 of
title 5, United States Code, for employees of the
United States Government while traveling in a foreign
country,
whichever is greater, exclusive of the actual cost of
transportation.
(4) Repayment of unused amounts.--Any individual to whom
the House of Representatives or the Senate provides a per diem
under this subsection shall return to the House of
Representatives or the Senate (as the case may be) any per diem
provided to the Member or employee which remains unexpended as
of the conclusion of the travel. Any amount returned in
accordance with the previous sentence shall be transferred to
the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall use such amount for
the purposes of deficit reduction.
(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for obtaining
local currencies under this subsection, of which--
(A) the amounts necessary for obtaining local
currencies for the use of any individual whose pay is
disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the
House of Representatives shall be appropriated from the
applicable accounts of the House of Representatives;
and
(B) the amounts necessary for obtaining local
currencies for the use of any individual whose pay is
disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate shall be
appropriated from the contingent fund of the Senate.
(6) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) any reference to a ``Member'' of the House of
Representatives includes a Delegate or Resident
Commissioner to the Congress; and
(B) the term ``official foreign travel'' means any
travel outside of the United States for which the costs
(including the costs of transportation, lodging, meals,
and related expenses) may be covered by appropriated
funds, including official funds of the House of
Representatives or Senate, under law or the Rules of
the House of Representatives or the Standing Rules of
the Senate.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Repeal existing authority.--Section 502(b) of the
Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754(b)) is amended by
striking paragraph (1).
(2) Maintenance of existing reporting requirements.--
Section 502(b)(3)(A) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 1754(b)(3)(A)) is
amended by striking ``an authorization under paragraph (1)''
and inserting ``an authorization under section 2(b) of the
Congressional Foreign Travel Reform Act of 2010.''.
(c) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this
section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2011 and each
succeeding fiscal year.
SEC. 3. ENHANCED DISCLOSURE AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO MEMBER
TRAVEL UNDER RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
(a) Reporting Requirements for Official Foreign Travel by House
Members and Employees.--
(1) Statement required prior to undertaking travel.--A
Member or employee of the House of Representatives may not
undertake any official foreign travel unless, not later than 14
days prior to the date on which the travel begins, the Member
or employee prepares and makes available for public inspection
in accordance with subsection (b) a statement containing the
following information:
(A) A statement of worthiness regarding the purpose
of the travel, including a description of how the
travel relates to the Member's or employee's official
duties.
(B) A tentative itinerary for each day of the
travel, including a list of the locations the Member or
employee intends to visit and any individuals with whom
the Member or employee intends to meet.
(C) The names of any other individuals who are
accompanying the Member or employee during the travel,
without regard to whether such individuals are Members
or employees of the House.
(D) The amount of the per diem the Member or
employee requested to be provided for the travel, and
whether the amount is greater than the standard per
diem provided under chapter 57 of title 5, United
States Code.
(E) A description of the aircraft to be used for
transportation for the travel, and the Member's or
employee's best estimate of the costs of using such
aircraft.
(2) Statement required after completion of travel.--Not
later than 14 days after completing any official foreign
travel, the Member or employee who undertook the travel shall
prepare and make available for public inspection in accordance
with subsection (b) a statement containing the following
information:
(A) A statement detailing the value, worthiness,
and educational benefit to the Member or employee of
the travel.
(B) The actual itinerary for the travel, including
a comprehensive statement of travel times, meetings,
and other activities carried out during the travel.
(C) The actual cost of the travel, itemized by the
costs of--
(i) transportation (including the
identification of the providers of the
transportation);
(ii) lodging (including the identification
of the providers of the lodging); and
(iii) meals (including the identification
of the providers of the meals).
(D) How much, if any, of the per diem provided for
the travel was unspent.
(3) Exception for information affecting national
security.--A Member or employee may exclude from a statement
prepared under this subsection any information which is
classified or the disclosure of which would adversely affect
national security, so long as the Member includes documentation
in support of the exclusion in the statement prepared under
this subsection.
(b) Publication Requirements for Reports.--Each statement required
to be prepared under subsection (a) with respect to official foreign
travel of a Member or employee of the House of Representatives shall be
made available for public inspection as follows:
(1) The statement shall be submitted for publication in the
Congressional Record.
(2) The statement shall be posted on the official public
website of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
(3) The statement shall be posted on the official public
website of the authorizing office.
(4) In the case of a statement submitted with respect to
travel of a Member, the statement shall be posted on the
official public website of the Member.
(5) In the case of a statement submitted with respect to
travel of an employee, the statement shall be posted on the
official public website of the employee's employing office.
(c) Prohibiting Vacation Stopovers During Travel.--A Member or
employee of the House of Representatives may not undertake a vacation
stopover for annual leave at any point during official foreign travel.
(d) Restrictions on Travel by Employees.--
(1) Travel by employees of members.--An employee of the
House of Representatives whose employing office is the office
of a Member may not undertake any official foreign travel
unless--
(A) the authorizing office for the travel is the
office of the Member;
(B) the travel is undertaken by the employee to
accompany the Member on the Member's own official
foreign travel; and
(C) no other employee of the office accompanies the
Member on such travel.
(2) Travel by employees of committees.--An employee of the
House of Representatives whose employing office is the office
of a committee of the House of Representatives may not
undertake any official foreign travel unless--
(A) the authorizing office for the travel is the
office of the committee;
(B) the travel is undertaken by the employee to
accompany a Member who serves on the committee on the
Member's own official foreign travel; and
(C) the number of employees accompanying the
Members of the committee on such travel does not exceed
the number of Members of the committee who are
participating in such travel.
(3) Exception for certain travel.--This subsection does not
apply with respect to travel to a military installation or
travel to a theater of operations of the Armed Forces.
(e) Requiring Efforts To Reduce Expenses; Return of Unspent Per
Diem.--Each Member and employee of the House of Representatives who
undertakes official foreign travel shall--
(1) take such actions as may be necessary to reduce the
costs incurred for such travel; and
(2) return any per diem provided to the Member or employee
which remains unexpended as of the conclusion of the travel.
(f) Regulations.--This section shall be carried out in accordance
with regulations promulgated by the Committee on House Administration
of the House of Representatives.
(g) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) The term ``authorizing office'' means, with respect to
a Member or employee of the House of Representatives, the
office which is authorized under law or the Rules of the House
of Representatives to approve the use of appropriated funds,
including official funds of the House of Representatives, for
official travel outside of the United States by the Member or
employee.
(2) The term ``Member of the House of Representatives''
includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.
(3) The term ``official foreign travel'' means any travel
outside of the United States for which the costs (including the
costs of transportation, lodging, meals, and related expenses)
may be covered by appropriated funds, including official funds
of the House of Representatives, under law or the Rules of the
House of Representatives.
(h) Statement of Rulemaking Authority of House of
Representatives.--This section is enacted by Congress as an exercise of
the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives and shall be
considered a part of the rules of the House of Representatives, with
full recognition of the constitutional right of the House to change
this section at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent as
in the case of any other rule of the House.
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