[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 85 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 85

  To provide for greater disclosure of and accountability for Federal 
                           Government travel.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 1995

Mr. Kanjorski introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to the 
  Committees on House Oversight and the Judiciary, 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 provide for greater disclosure of and accountability for Federal 
                           Government travel.

    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 ``Federal Travel Disclosure Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. APPROPRIATIONS FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TRAVEL.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
Federal funds may be obligated or expended for Federal Government 
travel, other than from amounts specifically appropriated by law for 
such purpose. Except as provided in subsection (b), no Federal 
department, agency, or entity may expend funds for the travel expenses 
of any individual who is employed by any other Federal department, 
agency, or entity.
    (b) Reimbursable Travel.--A Federal department, agency, or entity 
may expend funds for the travel expenses of an individual who is 
employed by another Federal department, agency, or entity if it is 
reimbursed by the individual or the travel account of the individual's 
employing department, agency, or entity.

SEC. 3. TRAVEL SUPERVISORS.

    (a) Executive Branch and Independent Agencies.--Except as provided 
in subsections (b) and (c), the head of each department, agency, or 
entity of the Government shall designate a travel supervisor for that 
department, agency, or entity.
    (b) Legislative Branch.--Travel supervisors in the legislative 
branch shall be--
            (1) Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and Resident 
        Commissioners for their travel and travel by members of their 
        personal staffs;
            (2) committee chairmen for travel by members of their 
        committees and committee staff;
            (3) the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
        minority leader of the House of Representatives, or their 
        designees, for other employees of the House of Representatives 
        or travel authorized by the full House of Representatives;
            (4) the majority and minority leaders of the United States 
        Senate, or their designees, for other employees of the United 
        States Senate or travel authorized by the full United States 
        Senate; and
            (5) the head of each agency of the legislative branch, or 
        their designee, in the case of employees of those agencies.
    (c) Judicial Branch.--Travel supervisors in the judicial branch 
shall be--
            (1) the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 
        or his designee, in the case of the Supreme Court and its 
        employees;
            (2) the chief judge of each United States Circuit Court of 
        Appeals, or their designee, in the case of each Circuit Court 
        of Appeals and its employees;
            (3) the chief judge of each United States district or 
        territorial court, or their designee, in the case of each 
        District or Territorial Court and its employees;
            (4) the chief judges of the United States Claims Court, the 
        United States Court of International Trade, the United States 
        Court of Military Appeals, the United States Tax Court, the 
        United States Court of Veterans Appeals, the District of 
        Columbia Court of Appeals, and the District of Columbia 
        Superior Court, or their designees, in the case of each of 
        these courts and their employees; and
            (5) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
        States Courts, or his designee, in the case of all other 
        employees of the judicial branch.

SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS APPLICABLE TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TRAVEL.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) all 
Federal Government travel shall be--
            (1) approved in advance by the travel supervisor of the 
        department, agency, or entity involved;
            (2) accomplished by the most economical means conveniently 
        possible; and
            (3) accomplished by United States commercial carrier 
        wherever possible, unless, as determined by the travel 
        supervisor, an alternative means is more economical or 
        necessary to achieve the goal of the mission.
    (b) Additional Restrictions on Legislative Branch Foreign Travel.--
All legislative branch foreign travel shall be--
            (1) approved in advance by recorded vote of the committee 
        in the case of travel by a committee member or committee staff, 
        or approved in advance by the appropriate travel supervisor in 
        all other cases;
            (2) accomplished by the most economical means conveniently 
        possible; and
            (3) accomplished by United States commercial carrier 
        wherever possible, unless, as determined by the travel 
        supervisor, an alternative means is more economical or 
        necessary to achieve the goal of the mission.
    (c) Exemption From Advance Approval Requirement.--Except as 
otherwise provided by law or regulation, advance approval shall not be 
required for travel which either--
            (1) does not require an individual to spend the night away 
        from their principal residence or place of employment; or
            (2) is undertaken under emergency circumstances as defined 
        in written guidelines established by the appropriate travel 
        supervisor.

SEC. 5. GUIDELINES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 
              TRAVEL.

    (a) In General.--Each travel supervisor shall, with respect to the 
department, agency, or entity involved--
            (1) in order to prevent duplicative and unnecessary trips, 
        establish written guidelines for Federal Government travel; and
            (2) not later than the end of each calendar quarter, file a 
        report with respect to such travel during the preceding 
        calendar quarter.
    (b) Report Contents.--Each report filed pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall, with respect to each trip--
            (1) specify the purpose and agenda of the trip, including 
        its duration and the places visited;
            (2) provide the name and position of each employee and any 
        other person who accompanies the employee at Government 
        expense;
            (3) in the case of air transportation by other than United 
        States commercial carrier, describe any determination under 
        section 4(a)(3) or 4(b)(3);
            (4) state the accomplishments of the trip; and
            (5) state the amount of each category of expenses incurred 
        for the trip, including separate categories for travel, food, 
        and lodging, or per diem for food and lodging.
    (c) Filing.--Each report under this section shall be filed with--
            (1) the Administrator of General Services in the case of 
        executive branch or independent agency travel;
            (2) the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives 
        or the Secretary of the United States Senate in the case of 
        legislative branch travel; and
            (3) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
        States Courts in the case of judicial branch travel.

SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.

    Not later than fifteen days after a report is filed under this Act, 
the Administrator of General Services, the Director of the 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Clerk of the 
House of Representatives, or the Secretary of the Senate, as 
applicable, shall--
            (1) make the report available for public inspection; and
            (2) provide copies of the report to any person, either upon 
        payment of a fee sufficient to cover the expense of 
        reproduction and mailing (other than any salary expense) or at 
        a lesser fee if, determined by the Administrator, Director, 
        Clerk, or Secretary, as applicable, such lesser fee is in the 
        public interest. At the end of the six-year period after the 
        date of filing, each report shall be destroyed unless such 
        report is required in an ongoing investigation.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``Federal Government travel'' means travel by 
        any employee (including any elected or appointed officer) of 
        the United States;
            (2) the term ``legislative branch travel'' means travel by 
        a Senator or Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident 
        Commissioner to, the Congress or by an employee (including an 
        elected officer) of the Senate or the House of Representatives 
        or any agency of the legislative branch;
            (3) the term ``agency of the legislative branch'' means the 
        Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Botanic Garden, the 
        General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, the 
        Library of Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment, the 
        Congressional Budget Office, and any other entity in the 
        legislative branch;
            (4) the term ``foreign travel'' means travel outside the 
        United States; and
            (5) the term ``United States'', where used in a 
        geographical sense, means the States of the United States, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the 
        territories and possessions of the United States.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect one hundred and eighty days after the 
date of enactment of this Act.

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