[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 2, Chapters 7 - 9]
[Chapter 7.  The Members]
[B. Compensation and Allowances]
[Â§ 6. Travel]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 716-725]
 
                               CHAPTER 7
 
                              The Members
 
                     B. COMPENSATION AND ALLOWANCES
 
Sec. 6. Travel

    There are three types of travel by individual Members for which 
they may receive allowances or reimbursement: travel to and from the 
home district; other domestic travel on official House business; and 
limited overseas travel on official House business. Allowances or 
reimbursement must be made pursuant to specific authorization, as the 
congressional compensation dictated by the Constitution (9) 
only extends to pay for official services, and not to reimbursement for 
expenses incurred through performance of such duties.(10)
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 9. U.S. Const. art. I, Sec. 6, clause 1.
10. Allowances are reimbursement for actual or presumed expenses and 
        are additional and separable from the legal rate of 
        compensation. Smith v U.S., 158 U.S. 346 (1895).
            Where there has been no congressional appropriation for a 
        travel allowance for an extra session of Congress, a 
        Congressman cannot claim a constructive allowance as part of 
        his compensation. Wilson v U.S., 44 Ct. Cl. 428 (1909).
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    Each Member is entitled to a mileage allowance for travel to and 
from each regular session of Congress.(11) The rate of 
reimbursement for such travel has been maintained at 20 cents a mile if 
by automobile, and at the actual cost of transportation if travel is by 
common carrier. Payments are computed on a basis of actual automobile 
speedometer readings, limited by a standard mileage guide, and are 
credited to the individual Member's account by the Sergeant at Arms at 
the beginning of each session.(12)
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11. 2 USC Sec. 43. The provision applies to the Resident Commissioner 
        from Puerto Rico and to the Delegates from Guam and the Virgin 
        Islands (see 48 USC Sec. 1715).
12. Regulations of Travel Expenses, issued by the Committee on House 
        Administration, Mar. 1, 1971, p. 20.
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    Each Member may also be reimbursed, at 12 cents a mile, for a 
certain number of round trips to his home district during the 
session.(13) As alternate payment, a

[[Page 717]]

Member or Delegate may elect to receive a lump-sum payment for 
transportation expenses each calendar year.(14) Members are 
also authorized a home district travel allowance for employees on 
official business.(15)
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13. The number of round trips per session was formerly codified (see 2 
        USC Sec. 43b-1). In the 92d Congress, however, the Committee on 
        House Administration became empowered by law to periodically 
        review and adjust the allowances of Members, including the 
        travel allowance (see Sec. 6.2, infra).
14. The lump-sum payment was formerly dictated by 2 USC Sec. 43b-1. The 
        Committee on House Administration has since made adjustments to 
        that amount (see Sec. 6.3, infra).
15. See Sec. 6.3, infra.
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    In the event that a special or extraordinary session is convened in 
addition to the two regular sessions of a Congress, the House may 
provide by resolution for additional mileage allowance for the expense 
incurred.(16) Where Congress fails to appropriate additional 
mileage expense for a special session, however, the Member must bear 
his own expense and cannot claim a ``constructive'' travel 
allowance.(17)
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16. See Sec. 6.7, infra.
17. Wilson v U.S., 44 Ct. C1. 428 (1909).
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    The Committee on House Administration has jurisdiction over 
measures relating to the travel of Members.(18) In addition, 
the committee has been authorized to make periodic adjustments in all 
allowances of Members, including the travel allowance, without any 
action required on the part of the House.(19)
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18. See Sec. 6.1, infra.
19. See Sec. 6.2, infra.
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    The Sergeant at Arms keeps the accounts of mileage and disburses 
travel allowances to individual Members.(20) Before he may 
disburse such payment, however, the mileage account of each Member must 
be certified by the Speaker, if the House is in session,(1) 
or by the Clerk, if the House is not in session.(2)
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20. 2 USC Sec. 78 and Rule IV, House Rules and Manual Sec. 649 (1973). 
        Rule IV was amended by H. Res. 5, 92d Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 22, 
        1971, and by H. Res. 1153, 92d Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 13, 1972, 
        to entitle Delegates and the Resident Commissioner to the 
        services of the Sergeant at Arms.
 1. 2 USC Sec. 48. The Speaker may designate a substitute to certify 
        the mileage accounts of Members and Delegates. 2 USC Sec. 50.
 2. 2 USC Sec. 49.
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    Mileage accounts for trips to the home district during a session 
are paid out of the contingent fund of the House.(3)
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 3. 2 USC Sec. 43b-1 and 2 USC Sec. 57.
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    The cost of other domestic travel outside the home district may be 
reimbursed by the House if the travel is undertaken on official House 
business. For example, travel for the purpose of performing committee 
business, such

[[Page 718]]

as investigations, may be funded from a committee's 
budget.(4) Likewise, where the House appoints a Member or 
Members to attend meetings or assemblies on behalf of the House, the 
House may by resolution authorize a travel allowance.(5)
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 4. For funding of committee business, see Ch. 17, infra.
 5. See Sec. 6.5, infra. By statute, Members appointed to attend 
        funeral ceremonies of deceased Members receive reimbursement 
        for travel expenses. 2 USC Sec. 124.
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    Pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Committee on House 
Administration, the Speaker may designate persons not members or 
employees of a committee to assist in committee investigations and 
therefore obtain travel expenses.(6)
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 6. Regulations of Travel Expenses, issued by the Committee on House 
        Administration, Mar. 1, 1971, p. 3.
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    The third type of travel for which a Member may receive government 
funds is overseas travel. Such travel may be funded either through 
specific appropriations or through ``counterpart'' funds. Counterpart 
funds are those foreign currencies credited to the United States, in 
return for aid, which may be spent only in the country of origin. Such 
currencies are made available for Members abroad on the business of 
certain committees.(7) The use of counterpart funds is 
limited by statute and must be specifically authorized.(8) 
Any overseas travel by a committee member must be reported in detail, 
showing the number of days visited in each country, the amount of 
subsistence furnished, and the cost of the transportation. Printed 
forms for the purpose of making such reports are furnished by the 
Committee on House Administration. In addition, each committee must 
file an annual report on the funds spent by Congressmen and committee 
staff members traveling overseas on official business.(9)
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 7. See 2 USC Sec. 1754(b).
 8. See Sec. Sec. 6.8, 6.9, infra, for instances of restrictions placed 
        on overseas travel by the House. See also the reporting 
        requirements and per diem restrictions of 2 USC Sec. 1754(b).
 9. For a summary of the House regulations relating to reimbursed 
        overseas travel, see Regulations: Travel and Other Expenses of 
        Committees and Members, Committee on House Administration, p. 
        2, 91st Cong., Jan. 1, 1970.
            Congress may also restrict private funding of overseas 
        travel for Congressmen; the 86th Congress agreed to an 
        amendment to a ship construction subsidy bill which restricted 
        free or reduced rate transportation for all federal employees. 
        Pub. L. No. 86-607, 74 Stat. 362, July 7, 1960.
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                                 Forms

        Forms of joint resolution appropriating mileage allowances for 
    Mem

[[Page 719]]

    bers and others incident to a special session of Congress.

            Resolved, etc., That the following sums are hereby 
        appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 
        appropriated, for the payment of expenses incident to the 
        second session of the Seventy-sixth Congress, namely:
            . . . For mileage of Representatives, the Delegate from 
        Hawaii, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, and for 
        expenses of the Delegate from Alaska, $171,000.(10)
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10. 85 Cong. Rec. 16, 76th Cong. 2d Sess., Sept. 25, 
        1939.                          -------------------
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Jurisdiction Over Travel

Sec. 6.1 The Committee on House Administration has jurisdiction over 
    travel allowances and their adjustment.

    The Committee on House Administration, created by the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946,(11) has jurisdiction over 
measures relating to travel and has the added function of reporting to 
the Sergeant at Arms the travel of Members.(12)
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11. 60 Stat. 812.
12. House Rules and Manual Sec. 693 (1973).
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Adjustments to Travel Allowances

Sec. 6.2 The Committee on House Administration became authorized by law 
    in the 92d Congress to periodically renew and adjust the travel 
    allowances of Members.

    On July 21, 1971, the House agreed to House Resolution 
457,(13) later enacted into permanent law,(14) a 
privileged resolution reported from the Committee on House 
Administration, which empowered that committee to periodically review 
and adjust the allowances of Members without requiring any action by 
the House.
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13. 117 Cong. Rec. 26451, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
14. 2 USC Sec. 57, enacted by Pub. L. No. 92-184, Ch. 4, 85 Stat. 636, 
        Dec. 15, 1971.
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    During debate on the resolution, it was stated by Mr. Frank 
Thompson, Jr., of New Jersey, a member of the committee, that 
adjustment of allowances by the committee would be submitted to the 
House and printed in the Congressional Record on the day following a 
decision.(15)
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15. 117 Cong. Rec. 26445, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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    House Resolution 457 read as follows:

        Resolved, That (a) until otherwise provided by law, the 
    Committee on House Administration may, as the committee considers 
    appropriate, fix and adjust from time to time, by order of the 
    committee, the amounts of allowances (including the terms, condi

[[Page 720]]

    tions, and other provisions pertaining to those allowances) within 
    the following categories:
        (1) for Members of the House of Representatives, the Resident 
    Commissioner from Puerto Rico, and the Delegate from the District 
    of Columbia--allowances for clerk hire, postage stamps, stationery, 
    telephone and telegraph and other communications, official office 
    space and official office expenses in the congressional district 
    represented (including, as applicable, a State, the Commonwealth of 
    Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia), official telephone 
    services in the congressional district represented, and travel and 
    mileage to and from the congressional district represented; and
        (2) for the standing committees, the Speaker, the majority and 
    minority leaders, the majority and minority whips, the Clerk, the 
    Sergeant at Arms, the Doorkeeper, and the Postmaster of the House 
    of Representatives-allowances for postage stamps, stationery, and 
    telephone and telegraph and other communications.
        (b) The contingent fund of the House of Representatives is made 
    available to carry out the purposes of this resolution.

Sec. 6.3 On several occasions, the Committee on House Administration 
    has submitted orders to the House adjusting the travel allowance of 
    Members and their employees.

    On Dec. 8, 1971,(16) Mr. Frank Thompson, Jr., of New 
Jersey, a member of the Committee on House Administration, submitted 
Order No. 2 of that committee, adjusting the travel allowance of House 
Members, pursuant to authority delegated to that committee by the 
House:
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16. 117 Cong. Rec. 45608, 45609, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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    To Adjust the Allowance for Travel of Members and Staff to and From 
        Congressional Districts

        Resolved, That effective January 3, 1971, until otherwise 
    provided by order of the Committee on House Administration;
        (a) The contingent fund of the House of Representatives is made 
    available for reimbursement of transportation expenses incurred by 
    Members (including the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and 
    the Delegate from the District of Columbia) in traveling, on 
    official business, by the nearest usual route, between Washington, 
    District of Columbia, and any point in the district which he 
    represents, for not more than 24 round-trips during each Congress, 
    such reimbursement to be made in accordance with rules and 
    regulations established by the Committee on House Administration of 
    the House of Representatives.
        (b) The contingent fund of the House of Representatives is made 
    available for reimbursement of transportation expenses incurred by 
    employees in the office of a Member (including the Resident 
    Commissioner from Puerto Rico and the Delegate from the District of 
    Columbia) for not more than four round-trips during any Congress 
    between Washington, District of Columbia, and any point in the 
    Congressional

[[Page 721]]

    district represented by the Member. Such payment shall be made only 
    upon vouchers approved by the Member, containing a certification by 
    him that such travel was performed on official duty. The Committee 
    on House Administration shall make such rules and regulations as 
    may be necessary to carry out this section.
        (c) This order shall not affect any allowance for travel of 
    Members of the House of Representatives (including the Resident 
    Commissioner from Puerto Rico and the Delegate from the District of 
    Columbia) which is authorized to be paid from funds other than the 
    contingent fund of the House of Representatives.(17)
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17. For the allowance prior to the order, see 2 USC Sec. 43(b), as 
        amended by Pub. L. No. 90-86, 81 Stat. 226, Sept. 17, 1967.
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    On Oct. 5, 1972,(18) Mr. Frank Thompson, Jr., of New 
Jersey, submitted a revised Order No. 2 as follows:
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18. 118 Cong. Rec. 34177, 92d Cong. 2d Sess.
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    Committee on House Administration: Order No. 2--Revised--To Adjust 
        the Allowance for Travel of Members and Staff to and From 
        Congressional Districts

        Resolved, That effective January 3, 1973, until otherwise 
    provided by order of the Committee on House Administration;
        (a) The contingent fund of the House of Representatives is made 
    available for reimbursement of transportation expenses incurred by 
    Members (including the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico) in 
    traveling, on official business, by the nearest usual route, 
    between Washington, District of Columbia, and any point in the 
    district which he represents, for not more than 36-round trips 
    during each Congress, such reimbursement to be made in accordance 
    with rules and regulations established by the Committee on House 
    Administration of the House of Representatives.
        (b) The contingent fund of the House of Representatives is made 
    available for reimbursement of transportation expenses incurred by 
    employees in the office of a Member (including the Resident 
    Commissioner from Puerto Rico) for not more than 6-round trips 
    during any Congress between Washington, District of Columbia and 
    any point in the Congressional district represented by the Member. 
    Such payment shall be made only upon vouchers approved by the 
    Member, containing a certification by him that such travel was 
    performed on official duty. The Committee on House Administration 
    shall make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry 
    out this section.
        (c) A Member of the House of Representatives (including the 
    Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico) may elect to receive in any 
    Congress, in lieu of reimbursement of transportation expenses for 
    such Congress is authorized in paragraph (a) above, a lump sum 
    transportation payment of $2,250 for each Congress. The Committee 
    on House Administration of the House of Representatives shall make 
    such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this 
    section.
        (d) This order shall not affect any allowance for travel of 
    Members of the House of Representatives (including

[[Page 722]]

    the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico) which is authorized to 
    be paid from funds other than the contingent fund of the House of 
    Representatives.

Sec. 6.4 Bills increasing the amount of allowable reimbursement for 
    travel expenses for Members and their employees are not called up 
    as privileged.

    On Aug. 4, 1965,(19) a bill to increase the number of 
reimbursable round trips to the home district for each Member and for 
his employees was not called up as privileged since it amended existing 
law, although it did provide for expenditure from the contingent fund.
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19. 111 Cong. Rec. 19426, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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    Similarly, on June 25, 1963,(1) the bill amending the 
Legislative Branch Appropriation Act of 1959 to provide for 
reimbursement of transportation expenses for Members for additional 
trips to their home districts was reported and called up as not 
privileged.
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 1. 109 Cong. Rec. 11528, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Travel for Appointees to Boards and Commissions

Sec. 6.5 The House adopted a privileged resolution appropriating from 
    the contingent fund expenses for committee members to attend a 
    meeting of a United Nations agency.

    On Nov. 9, 1943,(2) the House adopted a privileged 
resolution from the Committee on Accounts (H. Res. 349):
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 2. 89 Cong. Rec. 9337, 78th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Resolved, That there shall be paid out of the contingent fund a 
    sum not to exceed $500 to defray the actual expenses of such 
    members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs as may be designated by 
    the chairman thereof, to attend the meeting of the United Nations 
    Relief and Rehabilitation Administration at Atlantic City, N.J., 
    beginning Wednesday, November 10, 1943, on vouchers signed by the 
    chairman and approved by the Committee on Accounts.

Sec. 6.6 Members of a committee appointed to attend an international 
    conference were authorized by resolution to use foreign currencies 
    credited to the United States for travel expenses, where the 
    resolution granting the committee its investigatory authority in 
    the same Congress did not authorize foreign travel.

    On May 29, 1963, the House adopted a resolution called up by Mr. B. 
F. Sisk, of California, by direction of the Committee on

[[Page 723]]

Rules, relating to foreign travel by members of the Committee on 
Education and Labor:

        Resolved, That the Speaker of the House of Representatives is 
    hereby authorized to appoint a member from the majority and a 
    member from the minority of the Committee on Education and Labor to 
    attend the International Labor Organization Conference in Geneva, 
    Switzerland, between June 1. 1963, and June 30, 1963.
        He is further authorized to appoint as alternates a member from 
    the majority and a member from the minority of the said committee.
        Notwithstanding section 1754 of title 22, United States Code, 
    or any other provision of law, local currencies owned by the United 
    States shall be made available to the aforesaid delegates and 
    alternates from the Committee on Education and Labor of the House 
    of Representatives engaged in carrying out their official duties 
    under section 190(d) of title 2, United States Code: Provided, (1) 
    That no member of said committee shall receive or expend local 
    currencies for subsistence in an amount in excess of the maximum 
    per diem rates approved for oversea travel as set forth in the 
    Standardized Government Travel Regulations, as revised and amended 
    by the Bureau of the Budget; (2) that no member of said committee 
    shall receive or expend an amount for transportation in excess of 
    actual transportation costs; (3) no appropriated funds shall be 
    expended for the purpose of defraying expenses of members of said 
    committee in any country where counterpart funds are available for 
    this purpose.
        That each member of said committee shall make to the chairman 
    of said committee an itemized report showing the number of days 
    visited in each country whose local currencies were spent, the 
    amount of per diem furnished and the cost of transportation if 
    furnished by public carrier, or if such transportation is furnished 
    by an agency of the U.S. Government, the identification of the 
    agency. All such individual reports shall be filed by the chairman 
    with the Committee on House Administration and shall be open to 
    public inspection.(3)
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 3. 109 Cong. Rec. 9799, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
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    The resolution authorizing the use of ``counterpart'' funds for the 
appointees was necessary, since the resolution adopted in the 88th 
Congress granting the Committee on Education and Labor investigatory 
authority (H. Res. 103) did not authorize foreign travel or the use of 
such funds for foreign travel.

Travel for Extra Sessions

Sec. 6.7 The House by resolution authorized the Clerk to pay from the 
    contingent fund to the Sergeant at Arms an amount to cover 
    additional mileage for Members for attendance at a meeting of 
    Congress at a date earlier than that to which adjourned.

    On Aug. 7, 1948,(4) the House adopted the following 
resolution,

[[Page 724]]

subsequent to the convening of Congress on a date earlier than that to 
which it had adjourned:
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 4. 94 Cong. Rec. 10247, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives is 
    authorized and directed to pay to the Sergeant at Arms of the House 
    of Representatives not to exceed $171,000 out of funds appropriated 
    under the head ``Contingent expenses of the House,'' fiscal year 
    1949, for additional mileage of Members of the House of 
    Representatives, Delegates from Territories, and the Resident 
    Commissioner from Puerto Rico, at the rate authorized by law.

    Parliamentarian's Note: The Congress had adjourned from June 20, 
1948, to Dec. 31, 1948. The President called the Congress back into 
session by proclamation on July 26, 1948, for the consideration of 
legislation mentioned in his message to Congress on July 27, 1948.

Overseas Travel

Sec. 6.8 The House adopted in the 88th Congress resolutions with 
    committee amendments, reported from the Committee on Rules, 
    authorizing committees to conduct investigations but restricting 
    their use of counterpart funds (local foreign currencies owned by 
    the United States).(5)
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 5. For regulations promulgating per diem reimbursement limits and 
        reporting requirements on overseas travel for committee 
        members, see Regulations: Travel and Other Expenses of 
        Committee and Members, Committee on House Administration, 92d 
        Cong., Mar. 1, 1971. For the statutory limitations and 
        reporting requirements on use of such funds, passed into law in 
        the 88th Congress, see 22 USC Sec. 1754, as amended by Pub. L. 
        No. 88-633, Pt. IV, Sec. 402, 78 Stat. 1015, Oct. 7, 1964.
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    On Jan. 31, 1963, and Feb. 18, 1963, the Committee on Rules offered 
a number of resolutions authorizing certain House committees to conduct 
investigations. The committee offered amendments to each of those 
resolutions in relation to the use by committee members of 
``counterpart'' funds, i.e., foreign currencies, credited to the United 
States in return for aid, which may be spent only in the country of 
origin.(6) The amendments agreed to by the House were those 
limiting overseas travel for Members to a maximum per diem rate, 
limiting expenses to actual transportation, and requiring counterpart 
funds to be exhausted before appropriated funds were 
used.(7)
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 6. For a discussion of counterpart funds, past abuses in relation to 
        them, and the purposes of the committee amendments, see the 
        discussion at 109 Cong. Rec. 1556-59, 88th Cong. 1st Sess., 
        Jan. 31, 1963.
 7. Id. at p. 1547.

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[[Page 725]]

    For 10 other House committees, the House agreed to amendments 
authorizing no counterpart funds for members of those 
committees.(8) However, denial of such authorization did not 
preclude a committee from requesting specific authorization of the 
Committee on Rules for overseas travel funds for specific 
purposes.(9)
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 8. Id. at pp. 1547-59; see also 109 Cong. Rec. 2463, 88th Cong. 1st 
        Sess., Feb. 18, 1963.
 9. 109 Cong. Rec. 1548, 1549, 1552, 88th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 31, 
        1963.
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Sec. 6.9 Where members of a committee have no authority, under the 
    committee's investigatory resolution, to travel overseas or to use 
    foreign currencies while on committee business, the House may grant 
    such authority when the Speaker appoints members of that committee 
    as delegates to an international conference.

    On May 31, 1963, Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, 
appointed several delegates from the Committee on Education and Labor 
to attend the International Labor Organization Conference in 
Switzerland.(10) By virtue of that appointment, the 
delegates were authorized to travel overseas on official business and 
to use foreign currencies credited to the United States (pursuant to H. 
Res. 368) although the House Committee on Rules had previously 
disallowed use of governmental funds for overseas travel by members of 
the Committee on Education and Labor.(11)
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10. 109 Cong. Rec. 9896, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
11. 109 Cong. Rec. 1553, 88th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 31, 1963. See 
        Sec. 6.6, supra, for further discussion.
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