[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2032 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2032

To amend title 5, United States Code, to institute spending limits and 
      transparency requirements for Federal conference and travel 
                 expenditures, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 27, 2015

  Mr. Farenthold (for himself, Mrs. Black, Mr. Blum, and Mr. Russell) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                    Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to institute spending limits and 
      transparency requirements for Federal conference and travel 
                 expenditures, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Government Spending Accountability 
Act of 2015'' or the ``GSA Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. LIMITS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR CONFERENCE AND TRAVEL SPENDING.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 5711 the following:
``Sec. 5712. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending
    ``(a) Conference Transparency and Spending Limits.--
            ``(1) Public availability of conference materials.--Each 
        agency shall post on the public website of that agency detailed 
        information on any presentation made by any employee of that 
        agency at a conference (except to the extent the head of an 
        agency excludes such information for reasons of national 
        security or information described under section 552(b)) 
        including--
                    ``(A) the prepared text of any verbal presentation 
                made; and
                    ``(B) any visual, digital, video, or audio 
                materials presented, including photographs, slides, and 
                audio-visual recordings.
            ``(2) Limits on amount expended on a conference.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided under 
                subparagraph (B), an agency may not expend more than 
                $500,000 to support a single conference.
                    ``(B) Exception.--The head of an agency may waive 
                the limitation under subparagraph (A) for a specific 
                conference after making a determination that the 
                expenditure is justified as the most cost-effective 
                option to achieve a compelling purpose. The head of an 
                agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
                committees a report on any waiver granted under this 
                subparagraph, including the justification for such 
                waiver.
                    ``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph shall be construed to preclude an agency from 
                receiving financial support or other assistance from a 
                private entity to pay or defray the costs of a 
                conference the total cost of which exceeds $500,000.
    ``(b) International Conference Rule.--An agency may not pay the 
travel expenses for more than 50 employees of that agency who are 
stationed in the United States, for any international conference, 
unless the Secretary of State determines that attendance for such 
employees is in the national interest, or the head of the agency 
determines that attendance for such employees is critical to the 
agency's mission. The Secretary of State and the head of an agency 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
any waiver granted under this subsection, including the justification 
for such waiver.
    ``(c) Reporting on Travel and Conference Expenses Required.--At the 
beginning of each quarter of each fiscal year, each agency shall post 
on the public website of that agency a report on each conference that 
costs more than $10,000 for which the agency paid travel expenses 
during the preceding 3 months that includes--
            ``(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including 
        travel, lodging, and meal expenses, and any other agency 
        expenditures to otherwise support the conference;
            ``(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;
            ``(3) the location of the conference;
            ``(4) the date of the conference;
            ``(5) a brief explanation of how the participation of 
        employees from such agency at the conference advanced the 
        mission of the agency;
            ``(6) the title of any employee, or any individual who is 
        not a Federal employee, whose travel expenses or other 
        conference expenses were paid by the agency;
            ``(7) the total number of individuals whose travel expenses 
        or other conference expenses were paid by the agency; and
            ``(8) in the case of a conference for which that agency was 
        the primary sponsor, a statement that--
                    ``(A) describes the cost to the agency of selecting 
                the specific conference venue;
                    ``(B) describes why the location was selected, 
                including a justification for such selection;
                    ``(C) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the 
                location;
                    ``(D) provides a cost benefit analysis of holding a 
                conference rather than conducting a teleconference; and
                    ``(E) describes any financial support or other 
                assistance from a private entity used to pay or defray 
                the costs of the conference, and for each case where 
                such support or assistance was used, the head of the 
                agency shall include a certification that there is no 
                conflict of interest resulting from such support or 
                assistance.
    ``(d) Format and Publication of Reports.--Each report posted on the 
public website under subsection (c) shall--
            ``(1) be in a searchable electronic format; and
            ``(2) remain on that website for at least 5 years after the 
        date of posting.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given that 
        term under section 5701, but does not include the government of 
        the District of Columbia.
            ``(2) Conference.--The term `conference' means a meeting, 
        retreat, seminar, symposium, or event that--
                    ``(A) is held for consultation, education, 
                discussion, or training; and
                    ``(B) is not held entirely at a Government 
                facility.
            ``(3) International conference.--The term `international 
        conference' means a conference occurring outside the United 
        States attended by representatives of--
                    ``(A) the Government of the United States; and
                    ``(B) any foreign government, international 
                organization, or foreign nongovernmental 
                organization.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 5711 the following:

``5712. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending.''.
    (c) Annual Travel Expense Limits.--
            (1) In general.--In the case of each of fiscal years 2016 
        through 2020, an agency (as defined under section 5712(e) of 
        title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)) may 
        not make, or obligate to make, expenditures for travel 
        expenses, in an aggregate amount greater than 70 percent of the 
        aggregate amount of such expenses for fiscal year 2010.
            (2) Exemptions.--The agency may exclude certain travel 
        expenses from the limitation under paragraph (1) only if the 
        agency head determines that inclusion of such expenses would 
        undermine national security, international diplomacy, health 
        and safety inspections, law enforcement, or site visits 
        required for oversight or investigatory purposes.
            (3) Report to congress.--In each of fiscal years 2016 
        through 2020, the head of each agency shall submit to the 
        Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
        Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report containing--
                    (A) the justification for any expenses excluded 
                (under paragraph (2)) from the limitation under 
                paragraph (1); and
                    (B) the positive or negative impacts, if any, of 
                the limitation under paragraph (1) on the agency's 
                mission, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and ability to 
                perform core functions.
            (4) Identification of travel expenses.--
                    (A) Responsibilities.--Not later than September 30, 
                2015, and after consultation with the Administrator of 
                General Services and the Director of the Administrative 
                Office of the United States Courts, the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget shall establish 
                guidelines for the determination of what expenses 
                constitute travel expenses for purposes of this 
                subsection. The guidelines shall identify specific 
                expenses, and classes of expenses, that are to be 
                treated as travel expenses.
                    (B) Exemption for military travel.--The guidelines 
                required under subparagraph (A) shall exclude military 
                travel expenses in determining what expenses constitute 
                travel expenses. Military travel expenses shall include 
                travel expenses involving military combat, the training 
                or deployment of uniformed military personnel, and such 
                other travel expenses as determined by the Director of 
                the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation 
                with the Administrator of General Services and the 
                Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
                States Courts.
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