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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 429 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 429

  To improve the reporting requirements relating to foreign travel by 
          members of Congress and the use of foreign currency.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 1, 2011

Mrs. McCaskill introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To improve the reporting requirements relating to foreign travel by 
          members of Congress and the use of foreign currency.

    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 ``Cleaning Up Congress by Providing 
Accountability for Congressional Foreign Travel Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY.

    Section 502(b) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 
1754(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Availability to Members and Employees of Congress and 
Reports.--
            ``(1) Local currencies for member and employee foreign 
        travel.--
                    ``(A) In general.--There are authorized to be 
                appropriated such sums as may be necessary to purchase 
                local currencies for the purposes of congressional 
                member and employee foreign travel, which--
                            ``(i) the amounts necessary for obtaining 
                        local currencies for the use of any individual 
                        whose pay is disbursed by the Chief 
                        Administrative Officer of the House of 
                        Representatives shall be appropriated from the 
                        applicable accounts of the House of 
                        Representatives; and
                            ``(ii) the amounts necessary for obtaining 
                        local currencies for the use of any individual 
                        whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the 
                        Senate shall be appropriated from the 
                        contingent fund of the Senate.
                    ``(B) Availability.--The amounts described in 
                clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be made 
                available to Members and employees of the Congress for 
                their local currency expenses when authorized as 
                provided in subparagraph (C).
                    ``(C) Authorizations.--The authorization required 
                for purposes of subparagraph (A) may be provided by--
                            ``(i) the Speaker of the House of 
                        Representatives, in the case of a Member or 
                        employee of the House of Representatives;
                            ``(ii) the chairman of a standing or select 
                        committee of the House of Representatives, in 
                        the case of a member or employee of that 
                        committee;
                            ``(iii) the President of the Senate, the 
                        President pro tempore of the Senate, the 
                        majority leader of the Senate, or the minority 
                        leader of the Senate, in the case of a Member 
                        or employee of the Senate;
                            ``(iv) the chairman of a standing, select, 
                        or special committee of the Senate in the case 
                        of a member or employee of that committee or of 
                        an employee of a member of that committee; and
                            ``(v) the chairman of a joint committee of 
                        the Congress in the case of a member or 
                        employee of that committee.
                    ``(D) Review procedure.--The following information 
                shall be required and reviewed by the authorizing 
                officials under subparagraph (C) before approval or 
                denial of any foreign travel authorization or 
                appropriated dollar expenditures in connection with 
                travel outside of the United States by any Member or 
                employee:
                            ``(i) An explanation of purpose, the 
                        itinerary of travel, and the related cost 
                        estimates (per diem, lodging, meals, 
                        transportation and other purposes), including 
                        the dollar equivalency of any Federal 
                        Government entity transportation mode planned.
                            ``(ii) Before using any Federal Government 
                        transportation mode, a Member or employee shall 
                        perform a cost analysis comparison against a 
                        commercially available transportation 
                        equivalent to determine the most cost effective 
                        travel mode. This analysis shall institute all 
                        Federal Government transportation mode and 
                        commercially available transportation 
                        equivalent cost analysis comparisons. If the 
                        Federal Government transportation cost is 
                        greater than the commercially available 
                        transportation equivalent, a waiver shall be 
                        approved by the authorizing officials under 
                        subparagraph (C) permitting the Federal 
                        transportation mode, and an explanation and 
                        cost differential shall be reported in the 
                        consolidated report for committees and joint 
                        committees required under paragraph (2)(A) and 
                        the Member or employee report required under 
                        paragraph (3)(A).
                            ``(iii) The names of any other individuals 
                        who are accompanying the Member or employee 
                        during the travel, without regard to whether 
                        such individuals are Members or employees of 
                        Congress and the purpose for their travel.
                            ``(iv) Whether the amount of per diem 
                        requested is greater than the standard per diem 
                        provided under chapter 57 of title 5, United 
                        States Code.
                            ``(v) A Member or employee who uses 
                        commercial air carriers for transportation on 
                        official foreign travel business shall use 
                        coach or economy class accommodations for 
                        flights under 14 hours unless a waiver is 
                        obtained. A waiver for business class 
                        accommodations may be obtained by the 
                        authorizing officials under subparagraph (C) 
                        for flights under 14 hours and the reasons for 
                        the waiver shall be reported in the 
                        consolidated report for committees and joint 
                        committees required under paragraph (2)(A) and 
                        the Member or employee report required under 
                        paragraph (3)(A).
                    ``(E) Cost reduction.--Each Member or employee to 
                whom the House of Representatives or the Senate 
                provides a per diem under this subsection shall take 
                such actions as may be necessary to reduce costs 
                incurred for such travel and shall return to the House 
                of Representatives or the Senate (as the case may be) 
                any per diem provided to the Member or employee which 
                remains unexpended as of the conclusion of the travel. 
                Any amount returned in accordance with the preceding 
                sentence shall be transferred to the Secretary of the 
                Treasury, who shall use such amount for the purposes of 
                deficit reduction.
                    ``(F) Travel restrictions for members and 
                employees; exceptions; waivers.--
                            ``(i) Election period.--Unless authorized 
                        by the Senate (or by the President of the 
                        United States after an adjournment sine die) or 
                        the House of Representatives (or by the Speaker 
                        of the House after an adjournment sine die), no 
                        funds from the United States Government 
                        (including foreign currencies made available 
                        under subparagraph (B)) shall be received by 
                        any Member of the Senate or House of 
                        Representatives whose term will expire at the 
                        end of a Congress after--
                                    ``(I) the date of the primary 
                                election in which his successor is 
                                elected; or
                                    ``(II) in the case of a Member who 
                                is not a candidate in such primary 
                                election, the earlier of the date of 
                                such primary election or the 
                                adjournment sine die of the second 
                                regular session of that Congress.
                            ``(ii) Application.--The travel 
                        restrictions provided by subparagraph (A) with 
                        respect to a Member of the Senate or House of 
                        Representatives whose term will expire at the 
                        end of a Congress shall apply to travel by--
                                    ``(I) any employee of the Member;
                                    ``(II) any elected Officer of the 
                                Senate or House of Representatives 
                                whose employment will terminate at the 
                                end of a Congress; and
                                    ``(III) any employee of a committee 
                                whose employment will terminate at the 
                                end of a Congress.
                            ``(iii) Exception for certain travel.--This 
                        subsection does not apply with respect to 
                        travel to a military installation or travel to 
                        a theater of operations of the Armed Forces.
                            ``(iv) Waiver.--A Member or an employee may 
                        also obtain a waiver by the authorizing 
                        officials under subparagraph (C) for travel 
                        restrictions under clauses (i) and (ii). The 
                        reasons for the waiver shall be reported in the 
                        consolidated report for committees and joint 
                        committees required under paragraph (2)(A) and 
                        the Member or employee report required under 
                        paragraph (3)(A).
            ``(2) Committee quarterly report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--On a quarterly basis, the 
                chairman of each committee of the House of 
                Representatives or the Senate and of each joint 
                committee of the Congress shall--
                            ``(i) prepare a consolidated report which--
                                    ``(I) provides the purpose and 
                                destination of the foreign travel taken 
                                by Members or employees of the 
                                committee, to include the duration and 
                                purpose of any intermediary stops or 
                                layovers;
                                    ``(II) itemizes the actual amounts 
                                and dollar equivalent values of each 
                                foreign currency expended and the 
                                amounts of dollar expenditures from 
                                appropriated funds in connection with 
                                travel outside the United States, 
                                including transportation, lodging, 
                                meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and 
                                other purposes, including the providers 
                                of the transportation, lodging, and 
                                meals, and any unspent per diem;
                                    ``(III) lists any itinerary changes 
                                from the approved itinerary under 
                                paragraph (1)(D)(i) and reasons for 
                                such change;
                                    ``(IV) lists the names of any other 
                                individuals who are accompanying the 
                                Member or employee during the travel, 
                                without regard to whether such 
                                individuals are Members or employees of 
                                Congress;
                                    ``(V) lists any lodging, per diem, 
                                transportation, or other purpose cost 
                                estimate changes in excess of 10 
                                percent of the original amounts 
                                approved by the authorizing officials 
                                and reasons for such change;
                                    ``(VI) itemizes any Federal 
                                government transportation mode and 
                                related dollar equivalent expenses 
                                incurred for the travel duration, 
                                including any intermediary stops to the 
                                destination;
                                    ``(VII) lists any waivers for above 
                                coach or economy class accommodations 
                                approved under paragraph (1)(D)(i), and 
                                waivers for employee restrictions 
                                approved under paragraph (1)(F); and
                                    ``(VIII) shows the total itemized 
                                expenditures, by such committee and by 
                                each member or employee of such 
                                committee (including in the case of a 
                                committee of the Senate, each employee 
                                of a member of the committee who 
                                received an authorization under 
                                paragraph (1) from the chairman of the 
                                committee); and
                            ``(ii) forward such consolidated report to 
                        the Clerk of the House of Representatives (if 
                        the committee is a committee of the House of 
                        Representatives or a joint committee whose 
                        funds are disbursed by the Chief Administrative 
                        Officer of the House) or to the Secretary of 
                        the Senate (if the committee is a committee of 
                        the Senate or a joint committee whose funds are 
                        disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate).
                    ``(B) Availability.--Each consolidated report 
                required by this paragraph shall be made available for 
                public inspection on the official public Web sites of 
                the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 
                Secretary of the Senate on the official public Web 
                sites and shall be published in the Congressional 
                Record within 10 legislative days after the report is 
                forwarded pursuant to this paragraph. In the case of 
                the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and 
                the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
                House of Representatives, such consolidated report may, 
                in the discretion of the chairman of the committee, 
                omit such information as would identify the foreign 
                countries in which members and employees of that 
                committee traveled.
            ``(3) Member or employee travel reports.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Each Member or employee who 
                receives an authorization from the appropriate 
                authorizing official for the purposes of travel outside 
                of the United States under paragraph (1)(B), shall 
                within 7 business days after the completion of the 
                travel involved, submit a report setting forth the 
                information specified in paragraph (2) along with all 
                associated documentation and reimbursable expense 
                receipts to the authorizing officials under paragraph 
                (1)(C).
                    ``(B) Approval process.--The authorizing official 
                shall approve or deny reimbursable expenses submitted 
                under subparagraph (A) within 7 business days after 
                receipt of the report and supporting documentation and 
                reimbursable receipts from the Member or employee. The 
                authorizing official shall keep record of the report, 
                supporting documentation, and reimbursable receipts for 
                not less than 6 years and 3 months.
                    ``(C) Submission to clerk or secretary.--
                            ``(i) In general.--After the authorizing 
                        official approves the submission required under 
                        subparagraph (A), the Member or employee shall 
                        submit a report within 7 business days after 
                        the information specified in paragraph (2) to 
                        the Clerk of the House of Representatives (in 
                        the case of a Member of the House or an 
                        employee whose salary is disbursed by the Chief 
                        Administrative Officer of the House) or the 
                        Secretary of the Senate (in the case of a 
                        Member of the Senate or an employee whose 
                        salary is disbursed by the Secretary of the 
                        Senate). In the case of an authorization for a 
                        group of Members or employees, such reports 
                        shall be submitted for all Members of the group 
                        by its chairman, or if there is no designated 
                        chairman, by the ranking Member or if the group 
                        does not include a Member, by the senior 
                        employee in the group.
                            ``(ii) Public inspection.--Each report 
                        submitted pursuant to this subparagraph shall 
                        be made available for public inspection as 
                        follows:
                                    ``(I) The statement shall be 
                                submitted for publication in the 
                                Congressional Record.
                                    ``(II) The statement shall be 
                                posted on the official public Web site 
                                of the authorizing office.
                                    ``(III) In the case of a statement 
                                submitted with respect to travel of an 
                                employee, the statement shall be posted 
                                on the official public Web site of the 
                                employee's employing office.
                                    ``(IV) In the case of a statement 
                                submitted with respect to travel of a 
                                Member, the statement shall be posted 
                                on the official public Web site of the 
                                Member.
                            ``(iii) Consolidated report.--On a 
                        quarterly basis, the Clerk of the House of 
                        Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate 
                        shall each prepare a consolidation of the 
                        reports received by them under this 
                        subparagraph with respect to expenditures 
                        during the preceding quarter by each Member and 
                        employee or by each group in the case of 
                        expenditures made on behalf of a group which 
                        are not allocable to individual members of the 
                        group. Each such consolidation shall be open to 
                        public inspection and shall be published in the 
                        Congressional Record and be available on the 
                        official public Web sites of the Clerk of the 
                        House of Representatives and the Secretary of 
                        the Senate within 10 legislative days after the 
                        consolidation is completed.
            ``(4) Exclusion of information.--A Member or employee may 
        exclude from a statement prepared under this subsection any 
        information which is classified or the disclosure of which 
        would adversely affect national security if the Committee, 
        Member, or employee includes documentation in support of the 
        exclusion in the statement prepared under this subsection.
            ``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) any reference to a `Member' of the House of 
                Representatives or Senate includes a Delegate or 
                Resident Commissioner to the Congress;
                    ``(B) the term `official foreign travel' means any 
                travel outside of the United States for which the costs 
                (including the costs of transportation, lodging, meals, 
                and related expenses) may be covered by appropriated 
                funds, including official funds of the House of 
                Representatives or Senate, under law or the Rules of 
                the House of Representatives or the Standing Rules of 
                the Senate;
                    ``(C) the term `authorizing official' refers to--
                            ``(i) the Speaker of the House of 
                        Representatives in the case of a Member or 
                        employee of the House;
                            ``(ii) the chairman of a standing or select 
                        committee of the House of Representatives in 
                        the case of a member or employee of that 
                        committee;
                            ``(iii) the President of the Senate, the 
                        President pro tempore of the Senate, the 
                        majority leader of the Senate, or the minority 
                        leader of the Senate, in the case of a Member 
                        or employee of the Senate;
                            ``(iv) the chairman of a standing, select, 
                        or special committee of the Senate in the case 
                        of a member or employee of that committee or of 
                        an employee of a member of that committee; and
                            ``(v) the chairman of a joint committee of 
                        the Congress in the case of a member or 
                        employee of that committee; and
                    ``(D) the term `reimbursable expense' refers to 
                those amounts personally expended by the Member or 
                employee for transportation, per diem, or other travel 
                related expense in which they are entitled a refund at 
                the limitations and expense categories specified in 
                subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
                Code.''.

SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT ON EXPENDITURES FOR OFFICIAL FOREIGN TRAVEL.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of the 
amount of appropriated funds (including official funds of the House of 
Representatives and Senate, funds made available for the Secretary of 
Defense or the Secretary of State, and other funds available under any 
Federal law, rule, or regulation) for official travel outside of the 
United States by Members, officers, and employees of the House of 
Representatives and Senate, and shall include in the study the 
following:
            (1) For the period beginning with fiscal year 1994 and 
        ending with the most recent fiscal year for which relevant 
        information is available, and for each fiscal year during such 
        period, the amount of such funds spent on such travel, the 
        number of trips taken, and a list of the most frequently 
        visited destinations, broken down by travel by Members, travel 
        by employees, and travel for which payment was made using funds 
        of committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
            (2) The source of funds used to pay for such travel, and 
        any limits on the amount which may be spent on such travel or 
        on any component of such travel, such as airfare and 
        accommodations.
            (3) The types of military aircraft which are used to carry 
        out such travel, the military personnel required to operate 
        such aircraft, and the aggregate and hourly costs involved.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of State a report on the study 
conducted under subsection (a) which shall include such recommendations 
as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for determining the 
funding level for official travel outside of the United States by 
Members, officers, and employees of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives which will promote transparency and cost savings.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall apply to fiscal year 2012 and each succeeding fiscal 
year thereafter.
                                 <all>
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