[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5336 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5336

To require Members of the House of Representatives to post information 
   on their official public websites on the costs of trips taken by 
Members for which expenses were paid by the Department of Defense, the 
Department of State, or other offices of the House of Representatives, 
    to direct the Committee on House Administration of the House of 
  Representatives to maintain an online clearinghouse on its official 
 public website of all such information for all Members, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 26, 2016

Mrs. Ellmers of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was 
           referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require Members of the House of Representatives to post information 
   on their official public websites on the costs of trips taken by 
Members for which expenses were paid by the Department of Defense, the 
Department of State, or other offices of the House of Representatives, 
    to direct the Committee on House Administration of the House of 
  Representatives to maintain an online clearinghouse on its official 
 public website of all such information for all Members, 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 ``Taxpayer-Funded Travel Transparency 
Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING MEMBERS OF HOUSE TO POST INFORMATION ON COSTS OF 
              CERTAIN TAXPAYER-FUNDED TRAVEL.

    (a) Requirement for Members.--
            (1) In general.--Each Member of the House of 
        Representatives shall post on the Member's official public 
        website, and shall provide to the Committee on House 
        Administration of the House of Representatives--
                    (A) a description of each trip taken by the Member 
                for which transportation, lodging, or related expenses 
                were paid by the Department of Defense, the Department 
                of State, or an office of the House of Representatives; 
                and
                    (B) the amounts paid by the Department of Defense, 
                the Department of State, or office of the House for 
                such expenses.
            (2) Exception for members' representational allowance.--
        Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to a trip taken by a 
        Member for which expenses were paid by the Members' 
        Representational Allowance of such Member.
    (b) Clearinghouse of Information on Committee Website.--The 
Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives shall 
maintain on its official public website a clearinghouse of all of the 
information provided to the Committee under subsection (a) by all 
Members of the House.
    (c) Regulations.--The Committee on House Administration shall 
promulgate such regulations as it considers appropriate to carry out 
this section.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION AND DISCLOSURE OF EXPENSES INCURRED BY DEPARTMENT 
              OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF STATE IN PAYING MEMBER 
              TRAVEL EXPENSES.

    (a) Requirements for Secretary of Defense.--In the case of a trip 
taken by a Member of the House of Representatives for which the 
Department of Defense pays transportation, lodging, or related 
expenses, the Secretary of Defense shall--
            (1) determine the cost of the transportation, lodging, and 
        related expenses paid with respect to the Member; and
            (2) subject to subsection (c), provide the Member with a 
        written statement of the expenses not later than 10 days after 
        completion of the trip involved.
    (b) Requirements for Secretary of State.--In the case of a trip 
taken by a Member of the House of Representatives for which the 
Department of State pays transportation, lodging, or related expenses, 
the Secretary of State shall--
            (1) determine the cost of the transportation, lodging, and 
        related expenses paid with respect to the Member; and
            (2) subject to subsection (c), provide the Member with a 
        written statement of the expenses not later than 10 days after 
        completion of the trip involved.
    (c) Exception for Disclosures Affecting National Security.--The 
Secretary of Defense may waive the application of paragraph (2) of 
subsection (a), and the Secretary of State may waive the application of 
paragraph (2) of subsection (b), with respect to a statement of 
expenses relating to a trip taken by a Member of the House of 
Representatives if the Secretary determines that providing the 
statement of expenses may affect national security.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' 
includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall apply with respect to trips taken on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, except that this Act does not apply 
with respect to any trip which began prior to such date.
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