I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5304 

To prohibit Federal agencies from using Government funds to pay for the 

lodging of agency employees at establishments that are owned by or 

employ certain public officials or their relatives. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2018 

Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Mr. COHEN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. 

LAWRENCE, and Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform 

A BILL 

To prohibit Federal agencies from using Government funds 

to pay for the lodging of agency employees at establishments that are owned by or employ certain public officials or their relatives. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Heightened Oversight 

5 of Travel, Eating, and Lodging Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF GOVERNMENT PER DIEM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5304 IH

1 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means— 

2 (A) an Executive agency (as defined in sec3 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code), a mili4 tary department (as defined in section 102 of 

5 title 5, United States Code), or any other estab6 lishment in the executive branch (including the 

7 Executive Office of the President, the United 

8 States Postal Service, and the Postal Regu9 latory Commission); 

10 (B) an office, agency, or other establish11 ment in the legislative branch; and 

12 (C) an office, agency, or other establish13 ment in the judicial branch; 

14 (2) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means— 

15 (A) the President; 

16 (B) a relative of the President; and 

17 (C) with respect to an agency that is an 

18 Executive department, the head of the Execu19 tive department; 

20 (3) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an individual 

21 employed in or under an agency, including an indi22 vidual employed intermittently in the Government 

23 service as an expert or consultant and paid on a 

24 daily when-actually-employed basis and an individual 

25 serving without pay or at $1 a year; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5304 IH

1 (4) the term ‘‘Executive department’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 5, 

3 United States Code; 

4 (5) the term ‘‘per diem allowance’’ means a per 

5 diem allowance, as defined in section 5701 of title 

6 5, United States Code, or any similar allowance to 

7 which an employee is entitled, including any 

8 amounts made available to the head or other senior 

9 officer of an agency to pay for subsistence or other 

10 expenses related to travel; 

11 (6) the term ‘‘relative’’ has the meaning given 

12 the term in section 3110(a) of title 5, United States 

13 Code; and 

14 (7) the term ‘‘travel reimbursement’’ means re15 imbursement for actual and necessary expenses of 

16 official travel under section 5702 of title 5, United 

17 States Code, or any similar reimbursement to which 

18 an employee is entitled. 

19 (b) PROHIBITION.—An agency may not provide an 

20 employee of the agency a per diem allowance or travel re21 imbursement for the cost of lodging at an establishment— 

22 (1) in which a covered individual has a private 

23 ownership interest or beneficial interest; or 

24 (2) that employs a covered individual. 

25 (c) EXCEPTION.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5304 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) shall not 

2 apply to expenditures by the United States Secret 

3 Service or any other agency for protective mission 

4 purposes relating to the protection of an employee of 

5 an Executive department. 

6 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

7 90 days after the date on which an agency makes an 

8 expenditure that would be prohibited under sub9 section (b) but for the exception under paragraph 

10 (1) of this subsection, the agency shall submit a re11 port describing the expenditure to the Office of Gov12 ernment Ethics. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS