I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4447 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 13, 2010 Mr. Johnson of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To impose a moratorium on the use of appropriated funds for official travel outside of the United States by Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives until the Comptroller General issues a report on the costs of such travel and makes recommendations regarding appropriate restrictions and reporting requirements on such travel.

1.

Short Title

This Act may be cited as the Suspending Travel After Years of Pleasure Trips on Unwitting Taxpayers Act of 2010 or the STAY PUT Act of 2010.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The Wall Street Journal reported on July 2, 2009, that spending on congressional foreign travel has increased nearly tenfold since 1995, with lawmakers spending almost $13 million on foreign trips in 2008. According to a December 17, 2009, follow-up report, the Wall Street Journal found that spending on congressional foreign travel had increased by 70 percent from 2005–2008. (2)The true cost of congressional foreign travel cannot be calculated because the cost to travel outside of the United States on a military aircraft does not have to be disclosed by the Department of Defense. (3)The congressional foreign travel reporting requirements established by the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754) do not require members of Congress to reveal the purpose or merit of their foreign travel to the taxpayers.

3.

Moratorium on Use of Funds for Official Foreign Travel by Members of House of Representatives

(a)

Moratorium

Until the Comptroller General submits the report required under section 4(b), no appropriated funds, including official funds of the House of Representatives or funds available under any Federal law, rule, or regulation, may be used to pay for official travel outside of the United States by any Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives. (b)

Exception for Certain Travel

Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to the following travel: (1)Travel to a military installation. (2)Travel to a theater of operations of the Armed Forces. (3)Travel by Members and employees of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, if the travel is for official committee business. (4)Travel by Members and employees of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, if the travel is for official committee business.

4.

Study and Report on Expenditures for Official Foreign Travel

(a)

Study

The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of the use of appropriated funds (including official funds of the House of Representatives, funds made available for the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of State, and other funds available under any Federal law, rule, or regulation) for official travel outside of the United States by Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives, and shall include in the study the following: (1)For the period beginning with fiscal year 1994 and ending with the most recent fiscal year for which relevant information is available, and for each fiscal year during such period, the amount of such funds spent on such travel, the number of trips taken, and a list of the most frequently visited destinations, broken down by travel by Members, travel by employees, and travel for which payment was made using funds of committees of the House of Representatives. (2)The source of funds used to pay for such travel, and any limits on the amount which may be spent on such travel or on any component of such travel, such as airfare and accommodations. (3)The procedures by which the use of funds for such travel is approved, including reporting requirements which apply either before or after the travel is undertaken, and whether those procedures sufficiently restrict the use of the funds for travel which is not in the best interests of taxpayers and provide sufficiently detailed information regarding how the funds are used. (4)The types of military aircraft which are used to carry out such travel, the military personnel required to operate such aircraft, and the aggregate and hourly costs involved. (b)

Report

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of State a report on the study conducted under subsection (a), and shall include in the report such recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for restrictions on, and reporting requirements applicable to, official travel outside of the United States by Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives which will promote transparency and cost savings.