U.S. Attorney General's Travel Costs for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour
and Related Activities (12-OCT-04, GAO-05-95R). 		 
                                                                 
In August and September of 2003, the Attorney General of the	 
United States visited a number of cities around the country on	 
what has been termed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the	 
"USA PATRIOT Act Tour." According to DOJ, the intent of the tour 
was to (1) educate the public and inform members of Congress	 
about the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and (2) receive input
and feedback from state and local law enforcement with respect to
information sharing among law enforcement agencies and threats to
homeland security. In response to your request, we are providing 
information on the locations and costs of the U.S. Attorney	 
General's travels known as the USA PATRIOT Act Tour, as well as  
the locations and costs of a series of trips in September 2003	 
referred to by DOJ as "Life and Liberty" travel. These latter	 
trips involved a series of speeches regarding crime statistics	 
and other topics, including the importance of the USA PATRIOT	 
Act. We are also providing information on the official positions 
and office assignments of the DOJ staff that accompanied the U.S.
Attorney General on each of these travel visits. Additionally, we
are reporting on the purpose and the costs associated with	 
setting up and maintaining the new DOJ Life and Liberty Web site,
www.lifeandliberty.gov, and the purposes of meetings or contacts 
held by U.S. Attorneys with members of Congress and the public on
the USA PATRIOT Act in August and September 2003.		 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-05-95R 					        
    ACCNO:   A13034						        
  TITLE:     U.S. Attorney General's Travel Costs for the USA PATRIOT 
Act Tour and Related Activities 				 
     DATE:   10/12/2004 
  SUBJECT:   Congressional/executive relations			 
	     Government information dissemination		 
	     Law enforcement					 
	     Law enforcement agencies				 
	     National preparedness				 
	     Public relations					 
	     State/local relations				 
	     Travel						 
	     Travel costs					 

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GAO-05-95R

Washington, DC 20548

October 12, 2004

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy Ranking Minority Member Committee on the
Judiciary United States Senate

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. Ranking Minority Member Committee on the
Judiciary House of Representatives

Subject: U.S. Attorney General's Travel Costs for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour
and Related Activities

In August and September of 2003, the Attorney General of the United States
visited a number of cities around the country on what has been termed by
the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the "USA PATRIOT Act Tour." According
to DOJ, the intent of the tour was to (1) educate the public and inform
members of Congress about the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and (2)
receive input and feedback from state and local law enforcement with
respect to information sharing among law enforcement agencies and threats
to homeland security. In response to your request, we are providing
information on the locations and costs of the U.S. Attorney General's
travels known as the USA PATRIOT Act Tour, as well as the locations and
costs of a series of trips in September 2003 referred to by DOJ as "Life
and Liberty" travel. These latter trips involved a series of speeches
regarding crime statistics and other topics, including the importance of
the USA PATRIOT Act. We are also providing information on the official
positions and office assignments of the DOJ staff that accompanied the
U.S. Attorney General on each of these travel visits. Additionally, we are
reporting on the purpose and the costs associated with setting up and
maintaining the new DOJ Life and Liberty Web site, www.lifeandliberty.gov,
and the purposes of meetings or contacts held by U.S. Attorneys with
members of Congress and the public on the USA PATRIOT Act in August and
September 2003.

To obtain this information, we reviewed itineraries, vouchers, and travel
documents for the U.S. Attorney General and DOJ staff members who traveled
with him, or in advance of his trips, for all PATRIOT Act and Life and
Liberty travel. We also collected data on government aircraft flight

hours as well as the expenses incurred by United States Attorneys' Offices
in connection with the USA PATRIOT Act tour visits. Finally, we obtained
data on the purposes of the U.S. Attorneys' meetings with members of
Congress and the public during the August and September 2003 time period.
We relied on information and data provided by the Department of Justice
and did not independently verify the information it provided.

On September 8, 2004, we briefed you on the results of our work. This
report conveys the information provided during that briefing (see app. I),
as well as information that we received from DOJ on additional travel
voucher expenses (see app. I) and official positions and office
assignments of DOJ staff that accompanied the U.S. Attorney General on USA
PATRIOT Act Tour and Life and Liberty travel visits (see app. II).

In summary, we found:

o  	The U.S. Attorney General and his staff visited 14 states and 16
cities as part of the USA PATRIOT Act Tour and 13 states and 16 cities as
part of the Life and Liberty travel.

o  	According to available DOJ data, total expenses related to the U.S.
Attorney General's USA PATRIOT Act Tour, Life and Liberty travel, and the
Life and Liberty Web site are $210,976.10. Expenses are reported to
include $155,207.51 in travel and related expenses for the U.S. Attorney
General and his staff for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour itself, $47,138.15 in
travel and related expenses for the U.S. Attorney General and his staff
for Life and Liberty travel, and $8,630.44 to develop and maintain the
Life and Liberty Web site.

o  Eighty of 93 U.S. Attorneys reported conducting activities that
included

meetings with members of Congress and the public concerning the USA
PATRIOT Act in August and September 2003. According to a DOJ official, the
cost of these meetings was not specifically tracked and could not be
reasonably reconstructed. DOJ stated that the funds expended were part of
the United States Attorney's (USA's) budget used to conduct any USA
business, including press conferences, speeches, etc.

We requested comments on this report from the U.S. Attorney General. In
written comments dated October 6, 2004, and included in appendix III, the
Department of Justice stated that the draft report addressed only one of
the two purposes of the tour-sharing information-and should have discussed
the other major purpose of the tour-information gathering. We

                                Agency Comments
                               and Our Evaluation

included additional language in the report to reflect the information
provided by DOJ.

Also, DOJ clarified that the cost of U.S. Attorneys' meetings with members
of Congress and the public concerning the USA PATRIOT Act in August and
September 2003 was not specifically tracked and could not be reasonably
reconstructed. We included additional language in the report to reflect
DOJ's clarification of the tracking of this cost.

Regarding the draft report's references to expenses incurred by U.S.
Attorneys Offices in connection with the Attorney General's USA PATRIOT
Act visits, DOJ stated that these figures include money requested from the
Executive Office for United States Attorneys to cover expenses incurred
with the USA PATRIOT Act visits. DOJ stated that it did not collect
information regarding similar expenses incurred for the Life and Liberty
travel. We included additional language in the report to describe what
these expenses include.

We are sending copies of this report to other interested congressional
committees and the U.S. Attorney General. We will also make copies
available to others upon request. In addition, the report will be
available at no charge on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-8777 or by e-mail at [email protected] or John C.
Hansen, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-7105, or [email protected]. Key
contributors to this report were Vickie Miller, David Alexander, Steven
Haughton, Amy Bernstein, and Frances Cook.

Sincerely yours,

Laurie E. Ekstrand, Director Homeland Security and Justice Issues

[IMG]

     Government aircraft DOJ aircraft (12.4 hours) Non-DOJ     $48,547.00  o  
                     aircraft (16.2 hours)                     $21,452.00  o  
                                                                $27,095.00    
    Travel voucher expenses (excluding government aircraft)     $23,359.51    
Expenses incurred by U.S. Attorneys Offices in connection   $83,301.00  o  
with Attorney General's USA PATRIOT Act visits* Conference  $23,965.00  o  
        room rental Audio-visual equipment rental Other        $45,426.00  o  
        equipment/rental/purchase Miscellaneous expenses      $12,840.00  o $ 
                                                                 1,070.00     
                             Total                              $155,207.51   

     Total Travel voucher expenses (excluding       $47,138.15 $18,588.15     
government aircraft) Government aircraft DOJ $28,550.00  o $23,825.00  o $ 
    aircraft (18.2 hours) Non-DOJ aircraft (7             4,725.00            
                      hours)                    

     Life and Liberty web site development cost for DOJ personnel    $792.64  
      Life and Liberty web site development cost for contractor     $3,918.90 
Life and Liberty web site recurring costs (From August 25, 2003            
to June 29,2004, a total of 71.5 hours were expended to maintain 
                             the website)                           $3,918.90
                                Total                               $8,630.44 

            USA PATRIOT Act Tour Expenses                  $155,207.51        
           Life and Liberty Travel Expenses                $47,138.15         
          Life and Liberty Web Site Expenses                $8,630.44         
              Total Identified Expenses                    $210,976.10        

 Appendix II: Department of Justice Staff Accompanying U.S. Attorney General on
                  USA PATRIOT Act and Life and Liberty Travel

Tables 1 and 2 below show the official positions and office assignments of
the Department of Justice (DOJ) staff that accompanied the U.S. Attorney
General on each of his USA PATRIOT Act Tour and Life and Liberty Tour
visits, conducted between August 20, 2003, and September 25, 2003. In
addition to these staff, the U.S. Attorney General was accompanied by a
security detail for this travel.

Table 1: Department of Justice staff accompanying U.S. Attorney General on
USA PATRIOT Act Tour

Date Destinations DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General

08/20/03 o   Washington, DC, to  o  Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney 
                 Philadelphia, PA                     General                 
            o  Philadelphia, PA, to o   Advisor to the Attorney General and   
                  Cleveland, OH               Dep. White House Liaison        
            o   Cleveland, OH, to   o   Assistant Director, Office of Public  
                   Detroit, MI                        Affairs                 
                                                Associate Director, Office of 
                                    o    Intergovernmental and Public Liaison 
                                                                          (AG 
                                                      Advance)                

08/21/03  o  Detroit, MI, to Des Moines, IA  o  Chief of Staff, Office of
the Attorney General

o  Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison

o  Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs

o  	Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison (AG
Advance)

o  Special Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (Speech Writer)

08/21/03  o  Des Moines, IA, to Washington, D.C.  o  Chief of Staff,
Office of the Attorney General

o  Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison

o  Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs

o  	Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison (AG
Advance)

o  Special Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (Speech Writer)

o  Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs

08/25/03 o  Washington, DC, to Salt o  Counselor to the Attorney General,  
               Lake City, UT                Office of the Attorney General    
            o  Salt Lake City, UT, to  o     Research Assistant, Office of    
                      Boise, ID               Public Affairs (AG Advance)     
                                       o   Counsel to the Attorney General,   
                                            Office of the Attorney General    
                                       o  Assistant Attorney General, Office  
                                                of Legislative Affairs        
                                               Counsel to the Deputy Attorney 
                                       o        General, Office of the Deputy 
                                                                     Attorney 
                                                        General               

08/26/2003  o  Boise, ID, to Las Vegas, NV  o  Counselor to the Attorney
General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Research Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (AG Advance)

o  Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs

o  	Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney
General

o  Special Assistant, Office of Legal Policy (Speech Writer)

Date Destinations DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General

08/26/03  o  Las Vegas, NV, to Washington, D.C.  o  Counselor to the
Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Research Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (AG Advance)

o  Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs

o  	Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney
General

o  Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs

09/05/03 o    Washington, DC, to   o    Counsel to the Attorney General,   
                     Tampa, FL              Office of the Attorney General    
                                                Associate Director, Office of 
            o  Tampa, FL, to Atlanta, o  Intergovernmental and Public Liaison 
                         GA                                               (AG 
                                                       Advance)               
                                      o    Senior Advisor, Office of Public   
                                                       Affairs                

09/05/03  o  Atlanta, GA, to Norfolk, VA  o  Counsel to the Attorney
General, Office of the Attorney General

o  	Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison (AG
Advance)

o  Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs

o  Research Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (Public Affairs Advance)

09/06/03  o  Norfolk, VA, to Raleigh/Durham, NC  o  Counsel to the
Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

o  	Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison (AG
Advance)

o  Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs

            o  Raleigh/Durham, NC, to o    Counsel to the Attorney General,   
09/06/03         Washington,             Office of the Attorney General    
                                                Associate Director, Office of 
                         DC           o  Intergovernmental and Public Liaison 
                                                                          (AG 
                                                       Advance)               
                                      o    Senior Advisor, Office of Public   
                                                       Affairs                
                                         Senior Public Affairs Specialist,    
                                      o  Office of Public Affairs (Public     
                                         Affairs                              
                                                       Advance)               

09/08/03 o  Washington, DC, to  o  Counselor to the Attorney General,      
                   Buffalo, NY        Office of the Attorney General          
            o  Buffalo, NY, to New o    Advisor to the Attorney General and   
                   Castle, NH                Dep. White House Liaison         
                                   o   Assistant Director, Office of Public   
                                                      Affairs                 
                                   o      Director of Scheduling and Advance, 
                                               Office of the Attorney General 

09/08/03  o  New Castle, NH, to Boston, MA  o  Counselor to the Attorney
General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison

o  Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs

o  	Director of Scheduling and Advance, Office of the Attorney General (AG
Advance)

o  	Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs (Public
Affairs Advance)

Date Destinations DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General

09/09/03  o  Boston, MA, to New York, NY  o  Counselor to the Attorney
General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison

o  Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs

o  	Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs (Public
Affairs Advance)

o  	Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General (AG
Advance)

o  	Note: The Director, Office of Public Affairs, and the Chief of Staff,
Office of the Attorney General, met the U.S. Attorney General upon his
arrival in New York, NY. The Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of
the Attorney General, met the U.S. Attorney General at Federal Hall in New
York, NY, and accompanied him throughout the rest of the day.

09/09/03  o  New York, NY, to Washington, D.C.  o  Counselor to the
Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison

o  Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs

o  Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General

o  Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney (AG Advance)

o  Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Director, Office of Public Affairs

              Source: GAO analysis of Department of Justice data.

Table 2: Department of Justice staff accompanying U.S. Attorney General on
Life and Liberty Travel

Date Destinations DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General

09/18/03 o    Washington, DC, to   o     Chief of Staff, Office of the     
                   Louisville, KY                  Attorney General           
            o    Louisville, KY, to   o   Advisor to the Attorney General and 
                    Memphis, TN                      Dep. White House Liaison 
            o  Memphis, TN, to Little o    Senior Advisor, Office of Public   
                      Rock, AR                         Affairs                
                                      o   Assistant Attorney General, Office  
                                                   of Legal Policy            
                                      o   Assistant to the Attorney General,  
                                                Office of the Attorney        
                                                 General (AG Advance)         

09/18/03 o  Little Rock, AR, to  o  Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney 
                 Minneapolis, MN                      General                 
            o  Minneapolis, MN, to  o     Advisor to the Attorney General and 
09/19/03         Omaha, NE                        Dep. White House Liaison 
            o  Omaha, NE, to Kansas o     Senior Advisor, Office of Public    
09/19/03          City, MO                         Affairs                 
                                    o  Assistant Attorney General, Office of  
                                                    Legal Policy              
                                    o      Associate Director, Office of      
                                            Intergovernmental and Public      
                                                Liaison (AG Advance)          

09/19/03 o    Kansas City, MO, to    o    Chief of Staff, Office of the    
                    Washington, DC                  Attorney General          
            o  Attorney General did not o     Advisor to the Attorney General 
                return to Washington,            and Dep. White House Liaison 
                    DC, with staff      o   Senior Advisor, Office of Public  
                                                        Affairs               
                                        o  Assistant Attorney General, Office 
                                                    of Legal Policy           
                                        o  Senior Public Affairs Specialist,  
                                                Office of Public Affairs      
                                        o  Note: The Associate Director,      
                                           Office of Intergovernmental and    
                                            Public Liaison, stayed in Kansas  
                                                       City, MO.              

09/22/03  o  Springfield, MO, to Milwaukee, WI  o  Assistant Attorney
General, Office of Legislative Affairs

o  Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of Attorney General

o  	Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison

o  	Note: The Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs, met the U.S.
Attorney General upon his arrival in Milwaukee, WI.

            o  Milwaukee, WI, to  o  Counselor to the Attorney General,       
09/22/03      Cincinnati, OH      Office of the Attorney                   
            o  Cincinnati, OH, to                    General                  
                 Pittsburgh, PA      
               Pittsburgh, PA, to               Associate Director, Office of 
            o    Washington, DC   o  Intergovernmental and Public Liaison (AG 
                                                                     Advance) 
                                  o    Assistant Director, Office of Public   
                                                     Affairs                  

09/24/03  o  Washington, DC, to Columbia, SC  o  	Counselor to the
Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

o  Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs

o  Director, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys

o  	Note: The Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney
General, met the U.S. Attorney General upon his arrival in Columbia, SC.

       Date Destinations DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General

            o     Columbia, SC, to     o  Counselor to the Attorney General,  
09/24/03       Jacksonville, FL              Office of the Attorney        
            o   Jacksonville, FL, to                    General               
                   Tallahassee, FL        
            o  Tallahassee, FL, to New o     Assistant Director, Office of    
                     Orleans, LA                    Public Affairs            
                                       o  Director, Executive Office for U.S. 
                                                       Attorneys              
                                       o  Assistant to the Attorney General,  
                                                Office of the Attorney        
                                                 General (AG Advance)         
                                       o     Note: The Director of Scheduling 
                                                   and Advance, Office of the 
                                            Attorney General, met the U.S.    
                                               Attorney General upon his      
                                            arrival in New Orleans, LA. The   
                                               Assistant to the Attorney      
                                              General, Office of the Attorney 
                                                   General, departed from New 
                                           Orleans, LA, to Washington, D.C.   

            o  New Orleans, LA, to o  Counselor to the Attorney General,      
09/25/03       Nashville, TN       Office of the Attorney                  
            o   Nashville, TN, to                     General                 
                  Charlotte, NC       
            o   Charlotte, NC, to  o   Assistant Director, Office of Public   
                 Washington, DC                       Affairs                 
                                   o    Director, Executive Office for U.S.   
                                                     Attorneys                
                                   o      Director of Scheduling and Advance, 
                                                       Office of the Attorney 
                                               General (AG Advance)           

              Source: GAO analysis of Department of Justice data.

             Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Justice

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