[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2888 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2888

    To ensure the economy, efficiency, and management of Government 
operations and activities relating to travel arranged by the Executive 
 Office of the President, by abolishing the White House travel office 
 and requiring procurement of travel-related services by the Executive 
          Office of the President from private-sector sources.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 25, 1996

Mrs. Maloney (for herself, Mrs. Collins of Illinois, and Mr. Barrett of 
  Wisconsin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To ensure the economy, efficiency, and management of Government 
operations and activities relating to travel arranged by the Executive 
 Office of the President, by abolishing the White House travel office 
 and requiring procurement of travel-related services by the Executive 
          Office of the President from private-sector sources.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Executive Office Travel Management 
Imrovement Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) In May of 1993, the accounting firm Peat Warwick 
        prepared a study of the White House travel office and found a 
        lack of basic financial management procedures, including--
                    (A) lack of formal guidelines and procedures for 
                procurement,
                    (B) poor accounting systems,
                    (C) inadequate documentation and billing practices, 
                and
                    (D) ineffective cash management controls.
            (2) In May of 1994, the General Accounting Office issued a 
        report reviewing the White House travel office and establishing 
        29 management criteria that should be applied to operations of 
        the White House travel office.
            (3) Peat Warwick has confirmed to the General Accounting 
        Office that its May 1993 study had addressed 25 out of the 29 
        criteria and that the White House travel office operations at 
        that time satisfied only 6 of the 25 criteria addressed.
            (4) The White House travel office has greatly improved and 
        professionalized its operations, and the General Accounting 
        Office has determined that the office's operations now satisfy 
        27 of the 29 criteria.
            (5) The functions of the White House travel office are 
        unique within the Government and involve arranging, 
        facilitating, and coordinating complex travel, transportation, 
        communications, and other logistical requirements.
            (6) The travel, transportation, communication, and other 
        logistical support activities of the White House travel office 
        must carefully accommodate extensive and intensive Presidential 
        security requirements.
            (7) The employees of the White House travel office are 
        political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the President 
        and therefore do not have the protections afforded Federal 
        civil service employees.

SEC. 3. ABOLISHMENT OF WHITE HOUSE TRAVEL OFFICE.

    (a) Abolishment of Office.--The White House travel office, located 
within the White House Office, is abolished.
    (b) Reassignment of Functions.--Subject to subsection (c), the 
President shall assign to the Director of the Office of Administration 
the functions that immediately before this section took effect were 
performed by the White House travel office within the White House 
Office.
    (c) Ensuring Procurement From Private Sector Sources.--
            (1) In General.--Subject to policies and directives of the 
        President, the Director of the Office of Administration shall 
        ensure that travel management and related services for the 
        Executive Office of the President are, to the extent feasible, 
        procured from private-sector sources.
            (2) Specific requirements.--In carrying out this 
        subsection, the Director shall--
                    (A) take steps to improve economy, efficiency, 
                management, and accountability of travel-related 
                functions of the Executive Office of the President;
                    (B) expand the range of travel-related services 
                obtained by the Executive Office of the President from 
                private-sector and Federal agency sources;
                    (C) encourage full use of innovative systems and 
                technology in the performance of travel-related 
                functions; and
                    (D) obtain advice from the Administrator of General 
                Services, representatives of the travel management 
                industry, representatives of the communications 
                industry, and other appropriate persons.
    (d) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall report to the Congress the 
results of actions taken under this section.
    (e) Office of Administration Defined.--In this section, the term 
``Office of Administration'' means such office in the Executive Office 
of the President, established by Reorganization Plan Number 1 of 1977 
(3 U.S.C. chapter 2 note).
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