[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 103 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 103

 To require disclosure and payment of noncommercial air travel in the 
                                Senate.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 6, 2009

  Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require disclosure and payment of noncommercial air travel in the 
                                Senate.

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

SECTION 1. DISCLOSURE AND PAYMENT OF NONCOMMERCIAL AIR TRAVEL.

    (a) Rules.--
            (1) Disclosure and payment.--Paragraph 2 of rule XXXV of 
        the Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at the 
        end the following:
    ``(f) A Member, officer, or employee of the Senate shall--
            ``(1) disclose a flight on an aircraft that is not licensed 
        by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate for 
        compensation or hire, excluding a flight on an aircraft owned, 
        operated, or leased by a governmental entity, taken in 
        connection with the duties of the Member, officer, or employee 
        as an officeholder or Senate officer or employee;
            ``(2) reimburse the owner or lessee of the aircraft for the 
        pro rata share of the fair market value of such flight (as 
        determined by dividing the fair market value of the normal and 
        usual charter fare or rental charge for a comparable plane of 
        appropriate size by the number of members, officers, or 
        employees of the Congress on the flight); and
            ``(3) with respect to the flight, file a report with the 
        Secretary of the Senate, including the date, destination, and 
        owner or lessee of the aircraft, the purpose of the trip, and 
        the persons on the trip, except for any person flying the 
        aircraft.''.
            (2) Fair market value of noncommercial air travel.--
        Paragraph 1(c)(1) of rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the 
        Senate is amended--
                    (A) by inserting (A) after (1); and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Fair market value for a flight on an aircraft 
                that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation 
                Administration to operate for compensation or hire 
                shall be the fair market value of the normal and usual 
                charter fare or rental charge for a comparable plane of 
                appropriate size.''.
            (3) Reimbursement.--Paragraph 1 of rule XXXVIII of the 
        Standing Rules of the Senate is amended by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(c) Use of an aircraft that is not licensed by the Federal 
Aviation Administration to operate for compensation or hire shall be 
valued for purposes of reimbursement under this rule as provided in 
paragraph 2(g)(2) of rule XXXV.''.
    (b) FECA.--
            (1) Disclosure.--Section 304(b) of the Federal Election 
        Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 434(b)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (7);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (8) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(9) in the case of a principal campaign committee of a 
        candidate (other than a candidate for election to the office of 
        President or Vice President), any flight taken by the candidate 
        (other than a flight designated to transport the President, 
        Vice President, or a candidate for election to the office of 
        President or Vice President) during the reporting period on an 
        aircraft that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation 
        Administration to operate for compensation or hire, together 
        with the following information:
                    ``(A) The date of the flight.
                    ``(B) The destination of the flight.
                    ``(C) The owner or lessee of the aircraft.
                    ``(D) The purpose of the flight.
                    ``(E) The persons on the flight, except for any 
                person flying the aircraft.''.
            (2) Exclusion of paid flight from definition of 
        contribution.--Subparagraph (B) of section 301(8) of the 
        Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(8)(B)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in clause (xiii), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in clause (xiv), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(xv) any travel expense for a flight 
                        taken by the candidate (other than a flight 
                        designated to transport the President, Vice 
                        President, or a candidate for election to the 
                        office of President or Vice President) on an 
                        aircraft that is not licensed by the Federal 
                        Aviation Administration to operate for 
                        compensation or hire: Provided, That the 
                        candidate (or the authorized committee of the 
                        candidate) pays to the owner, lessee, or other 
                        individual who provides the airplane the pro 
                        rata share of the fair market value of such 
                        flight (as determined by dividing the fair 
                        market value of the normal and usual charter 
                        fare or rental charge for a comparable plane of 
                        appropriate size by the number of candidates on 
                        the flight) by not later than 7 days after the 
                        date on which the flight is taken.''.
                                 <all>