IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 424

Requiring members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives

to submit reports on travel to the Clerk of the House which include

information on the source of funds used to pay for such travel, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 7, 1998

Mr. HAMILTON (for himself, Mr. COX of California, Mr. VISCLOSKY, and Mr.

CAMPBELL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on House Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on

Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of

the committee concerned

RESOLUTION

Requiring members, officers, and employees of the House

of Representatives to submit reports on travel to the

Clerk of the House which include information on the

source of funds used to pay for such travel, and for

other purposes.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive

4 Travel Reform Rule of 1998’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The House makes the following findings:

3 (1) The duties of Members of Congress require

4 knowledge of a broad range of domestic and foreign

5 issues. Domestic and foreign travel can greatly en6 hance a Member’s knowledge, improving the quality

7 of legislation and congressional oversight. At the

8 same time, the lack of personal travel experience can

9 be a valid consideration in evaluating a Member’s

10 views on foreign policy and security issues.

11 (2) Congressional travel has many concrete ben12 efits. Domestic travel can improve a Member’s un13 derstanding of the impact government policies have

14 on a particular region or group of citizens. Such

15 travel can also increase public awareness and knowl16 edge of issues before Congress.

17 (3) Foreign travel by Members of Congress can

18 advance United States national interests. A Con19 gress that engages in no foreign travel is unequipped

20 to handle the many challenges facing the United

21 States. Travel increases the foreign policy expertise

22 of all Members, who must vote regularly on pro23 grams and issues that commit significant United

24 States resources abroad. Travel alerts Members to

25 United States foreign trade opportunities. Some

26 trips have saved millions of taxpayer dollars by ex-
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1 posing wasteful programs at home and abroad.

2 Firsthand experience has inspired Members to im3 prove the safety and quality of life of United States

4 military and civilian personnel serving abroad. Mem5 bers have frequently promoted United States inter6 ests by calling attention to human rights abuses or

7 environmental dangers during their travel.

8 (4) Travel by Members improves foreign under9 standing of the views of Congress, as well as of the

10 unique and important role Congress plays in formu11 lating United States policy. Members who do not

12 represent the administration directly are often able

13 to say things that United States diplomats cannot.

14 Congressional travel builds important personal rela15 tionships with United States allies, and inter16 parliamentary exchanges promote democracy by en17 couraging foreign legislators.

18 (5) Members should share their travel experi19 ences with the House and the general public. When20 ever possible, these statements should include policy

21 recommendations based on such travel.

22 (6) Abuses of foreign and domestic travel waste

23 taxpayer dollars, increase the influence of special in24 terests, and undermine public confidence in Con25 gress. Abuses discourage Members from taking im-
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1 portant, legitimate travel and diminish the ability of

2 Congress to act effectively in many areas.

3 (7) Congress has a responsibility to try to elimi4 nate all abuses of travel, while also encouraging

5 Members to take travel that enhances the ability of

6 Congress to advance the interests of the United

7 States.

8 (8) Members have a personal responsibility to

9 ensure that their travel not only complies with de10 tailed travel rules but reflects creditably on the

11 House of Representatives (Rule XLIII.1).

12 (9) Each Member should endeavor to travel on

13 a periodic basis to inspect important government ac14 tivities at home and abroad.

15 SEC. 3. REQUIRING REPORTS ON TRAVEL.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each Member, officer, and em17 ployee of the House of Representatives shall submit to the

18 Clerk of the House of Representatives a report on the fol19 lowing categories of travel undertaken by the Member, of20 ficer, or employee:

21 (1) Travel for which payment is made from the

22 Members’ representational allowance or from the ac23 counts of a committee or other office of the House,

24 other than travel undertaken by a Member (or by an

25 employee of the Member or an employee of a com-
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1 mittee on which the Member is the chair or ranking

2 minority member) between the district the Member

3 represents and the District of Columbia.

4 (2) Travel within a foreign country for which

5 payment is made by the government of a foreign

6 country.

7 (3) Travel in support of the official business of

8 the Member, officer, or employee for which payment

9 is made from any source not described in paragraph

10 (1) or (2).

11 (b) INFORMATION CONTAINED IN REPORT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each report submitted

13 under subsection (a) shall contain the following in14 formation:

15 (A) An identification of the individual or

16 entity paying for the travel described in the re17 port.

18 (B) A substantive report on the relation of

19 the travel to the official business of the House,

20 including findings and recommendations. Indi21 viduals traveling in groups may submit a joint

22 report, which may include separate minority or

23 additional views. Each report submitted under

24 this subparagraph shall include a detailed

25 itinerary of all meetings, interviews, inspection
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1 tours, and other official functions in which the

2 individual involved participated, except that the

3 Clerk may withhold from publication certain in4 formation contained in the report if the individ5 ual certifies that disclosure of the information

6 would—

7 (i) be detrimental to the national se8 curity interests of the United States;

9 (ii) pose a threat of harm or reprisal

10 to an individual or group;

11 (iii) endanger the confidentiality of

12 sources or methods of intelligence or law

13 enforcement operation or activity; or

14 (iv) compromise or hamper a commit15 tee investigation or oversight function.

16 (C) In the case of travel described in sub17 section (a)(3) for which transportation is pro18 vided by the Department of Defense, an esti19 mate of the amount which would have been paid

20 if the transportation had been provided through

21 commercial sources.

22 (D) In the case of travel described in sub23 section (a)(2), an estimate of the expenses in24 curred for which payment was made by the for25 eign government involved.
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1 (E) In the case of travel described in sub2 section (a)(3) (other than travel for which pay3 ment is made by the Federal Government),

4 such information as the Member, officer, or em5 ployee may reasonably ascertain on the source

6 of the funds used by the individual or entity to

7 pay for the travel (together with any informa8 tion required under paragraph (2)).

9 (2) SPECIFIC INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR

10 TRAVEL PAID FOR BY CERTAIN NONPROFIT ORGANI11 ZATIONS.—In the case of travel described in sub12 section (a)(3) which is paid for (in whole or in part)

13 by an organization exempt from Federal tax under

14 section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Reve15 nue Code of 1986, the Member, officer, or employee

16 shall include in the report submitted under sub17 section (a)—

18 (A) a copy of the form filed by the organi19 zation with the Internal Revenue Service which

20 summarizes the organization’s contributions

21 and expenditures; and

22 (B) a copy of the schedule of contributions

23 filed by the organization with the Internal Rev24 enue Service which lists all contributions of
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1 $5,000 or more received by the organization

2 during a taxable year.

3 (c) DEADLINE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Member, officer, or em5 ployee shall submit the report required under this

6 section not later than 30 days after the completion

7 of the travel involved.

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (A) COMMITTEE TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

10 Clause 2(n)(1)(B) of rule XI of the Rules of the

11 House of Representatives is amended by strik12 ing the second sentence.

13 (B) GIFT BAN.—Clause 2(a)(1)(B) of rule

14 LI of the Rules of the House of Representatives

15 is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(B) meets the applicable reporting require17 ments with respect to the expenses under the rules

18 of the House of Representatives.’’.

19 (d) REPORTS TO COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF OF20 FICIAL CONDUCT ON LATE FILINGS.—The Clerk shall no21 tify the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of

22 any Member, officer, or employee who submits a report

23 required under this section after the expiration of the ap24 plicable deadline, or who submits a report which otherwise

25 fails to meet the requirements of this section.
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1 (e) MEMBER DEFINED.—In this section, the term

2 ‘‘Member’’ includes any Resident Commissioner or Dele3 gate to the Congress.

4 SEC. 4. COMPILATION AND PUBLICATION OF REPORTS ON

5 TRAVEL.

6 (a) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than 45 days

7 after the end of each calendar quarter, the Clerk of the

8 House of Representatives shall compile all reports submit9 ted under section 3 for the quarter and submit such com10 pilation for publication in the Congressional Record.

11 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days after

12 the end of each session of a Congress, the Clerk of the

13 House of Representatives, in consultation with the Com14 mittee on House Oversight, shall publish a report contain15 ing the following information:

16 (1) A summary of the total amount of travel

17 described in section 3(a) which is undertaken by

18 Members, officers, and employees of the House dur19 ing the session, including the total amount expended

20 for travel described in paragraph (1) of such section

21 and the percentage such total amount represents of

22 all expenditures of the House during the session.

23 (2) A summary of the foreign travel described

24 in section 3(a) which is undertaken by Members, of25 ficers, and employees during the session.
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1 (c) REQUIRING POSTING OF REPORTS ON INTER2 NET.—The compilation of reports required under sub3 section (a) and the reports published under subsection (b)

4 shall be posted on the Internet upon completion in a man5 ner that permits any member of the public to obtain such

6 compilation and report at any time. For purposes of this

7 subsection, the term ‘‘Internet’’ means the international

8 computer network of both Federal and non-Federal inter9 operable packet-switched data networks.

10 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL.

11 (a) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT EXPENDED ON TRAVEL

12 PAID BY PRIVATE SOURCES.—No Member, officer, or em13 ployee of the House of Representatives may accept any

14 travel described in section 3(a)(3) for which—

15 (1) first class airfare is provided; or

16 (2) the total costs of meals and lodging exceed

17 the amount of the maximum per diem rate set forth

18 in applicable Federal law for other employees of the

19 Federal Government.

20 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON PRIVATELY-FUNDED GIFTS

21 FOR SPOUSE OR FAMILY MEMBER TRAVEL.—Clause

22 2(d)(4) of rule LI of the Rules of the House of Represent23 atives is amended by striking the period at the end and

24 inserting the following: ‘‘, but only if the travel is not of25 fered or enhanced because of the official position of the
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1 Member, officer, or employee and is customarily provided

2 to others in similar circumstances.’’.

3 (c) CLARIFICATION OF PER DIEM LIMIT APPLICABLE

4 TO COMMITTEE TRAVEL.—Clause 2(n)(1)(A) of rule XI

5 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended

6 by striking ‘‘applicable Federal law’’ and inserting ‘‘appli7 cable Federal law for employees of the Federal Govern8 ment who are not Members, officers, or employees of the

9 House of Representatives’’.

10 (d) REQUIRING ADVANCE AUTHORIZATION FOR

11 COSTS EXCEEDING PUBLISHED PER DIEM RATES FOR

12 OTHER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Notwithstanding any

13 other rule or regulation of the House of Representatives,

14 the total amount which may be expended for travel de15 scribed in section 3(a) by a Member, officer, or employee

16 of the House of Representatives on a day may not exceed

17 the published per diem rate applicable for employees of

18 the Federal Government who are not Members, officers,

19 or employees of the House of Representatives unless the

20 Member or officer involved authorizes the expenditure of

21 a greater amount prior to the occurrence of the travel.

22 (e) REQUIRING ADVANCE AUTHORIZATION FOR ALL

23 OFFICIAL TRAVEL PAID BY PRIVATE SOURCES.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—No Member, officer, or em25 ployee of the House of Representatives may accept
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1 any travel described in section 3(a)(3) (other than

2 travel for which payment is made by the Federal

3 Government) unless the Committee on Standards of

4 Official Conduct has authorized the acceptance of

5 the travel prior to the commencement of the travel.

6 (2) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORIZA7 TION FOR EMPLOYEE TRAVEL.—In the case of travel

8 of an employee, the advance authorization required

9 under paragraph (1) shall include—

10 (A) the name of the employee;

11 (B) the name of the person who will reim12 burse the employee for the travel;

13 (C) the time, place, and purpose of the

14 travel; and

15 (D) a determination that the travel is in

16 connection with the duties of the employee as

17 an officeholder and would not create the ap18 pearance that the employee is using public of19 fice for private gain.

20 (3) STANDARDS FOR REVIEW.—In determining

21 whether to authorize a Member, officer, or employee

22 to accept travel under paragraph (1), the Committee

23 on Standards of Official Conduct shall examine—

24 (A) whether the person paying for the

25 travel has a direct interest in any Federal legis-
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1 lation and (if so) whether the acceptance of the

2 travel will have an adverse impact on the integ3 rity of the legislative process, taking into con4 sideration public perceptions; and

5 (B) whether the acceptance of the travel is

6 prohibited under this resolution (or the amend7 ments made by this resolution) or is otherwise

8 prohibited under the Rules of the House of

9 Representatives.

10 (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

11 GIFT BAN.—Clause 2 of rule LI of the Rules of the

12 House of Representatives is amended—

13 (A) by amending paragraph (a)(1)(A) to

14 read as follows:

15 ‘‘(A) meets the applicable requirements for ad16 vance authorization under the rules of the House of

17 Representatives, and’’; and

18 (B) by striking paragraph (b).

19 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.

20 Not later than 90 days after the adoption of this reso21 lution, the Committee on House Oversight, in consultation

22 with the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct,

23 shall issue regulations to carry out this resolution, to24 gether with guidelines for activities undertaken by Mem25 bers, officers, and employees while on official travel, in-
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1 cluding recommendations on the appropriate balance of

2 time spent on official and non-official business and on ap3 propriate meetings and activities while traveling in foreign

4 nations.

5 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

6 This resolution shall apply with respect to calendar

7 quarters beginning after the expiration of the 30-day pe8 riod which begins on the date of the adoption of this reso9 lution, except that the requirement that a Member, officer,

10 or employee of the House of Representatives file the infor11 mation described in section 3(b)(2)(B) shall apply with re12 spect to calendar quarters beginning after the first taxable

13 year which begins after the date of the adoption of this

14 resolution.

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