I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 930
To require Federal employees to use Federal travel charge cards for all
payments of expenses of official Government travel, to amend title 31,
United States Code, to establish requirements for prepayment audits
of Federal agency transportation expenses, to authorize reimbursement
of Federal agency employees for taxes incurred on travel or transpor-
tation reimbursements, and to authorize test programs for the payment
of Federal employee travel expenses and relocation expenses.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 5, 1997
Mr. HORN (for himself, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MICA, and Mr.
PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Government Reform and Oversight
A BILL
To require Federal employees to use Federal travel charge
cards for all payments of expenses of official Government
travel, to amend title 31, United States Code, to estab-
lish requirements for prepayment audits of Federal agen-
cy transportation expenses, to authorize reimbursement
of Federal agency employees for taxes incurred on travel
or transportation reimbursements, and to authorize test
programs for the payment of Federal employee travel
expenses and relocation expenses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Travel and Transpor-
tation Reform Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE USE OF THE TRAVEL
CHARGE CARD.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Under regulations issued by the
Administrator of General Services, the Administrator may
require that Federal employees use the travel charge card
established pursuant to the United States Travel and
Transportation Payment and Expense Control System, or
any Federal contractor-issued travel charge, for all pay-
ments of expenses of official Government travel. The Ad-
ministrator shall exempt any payment, person, type or
class of payments, or type or class of personnel from any
requirement established under the preceding sentence in
any case in which—
(1) it is in the best interest of the United
States to do so;
(2) payment through a travel charge card is im-
practical or imposes unreasonable burdens or costs
on Federal employees or Federal agencies; or
(3) the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of
Transportation (with respect to the Coast Guard)
requests an exemption with respect to the members
of the uniformed services.
(b) LIMITATION
ON
RESTRICTION
ON
DISCLO-
SURE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1113 of the Right to
Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3413) is
amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(q) Nothing in this title shall apply to the disclosure
of any financial record or information to a Government
authority in conjunction with a Federal contractor-issued
travel charge card issued for official Government travel.’’.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made
by paragraph (1) is effective as of October 1, 1983,
and applies to any records created pursuant to the
United States Travel and Transportation Payment
and Expense Control System or any Federal con-
tractor-issued travel charge card issued for official
Government travel.
(c) COLLECTION OF AMOUNTS OWED.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Under regulations issued by
the Administrator of General Services and upon
written request of a Federal contractor, the head of
any Federal agency may, on behalf of the contractor,
collect by deduction from the amount of pay owed to
an employee of the agency any amount of funds the
employee owes to the contractor as a result of delin-
quencies on a travel charge card issued for payment
of expenses incurred in connection with official Gov-
ernment travel. The amount deducted from the pay
owed to an employee with respect to a pay period
may not exceed 15 percent of the net pay of the em-
ployee for that pay period, except that a greater per-
centage may be deducted upon the written consent
of the employee.
(2) DUE
PROCESS
PROTECTIONS.—Collection
under this subsection shall be carried out in accord-
ance with procedures substantially equivalent to the
procedures required under section 3716(a) of title
31, United States Code.
(3) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this
subsection:
(A) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the
meaning that term has under section 101 of
title 31, United States Code.
(B) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’
means an individual employed in or under an
agency, including a member of any of the uni-
formed services. For purposes of this sub-
section, a member of one of the uniformed serv-
ices is an employee of that uniformed service.
(C) MEMBER; 
UNIFORMED
SERVICE.—
Each of the terms ‘‘member’’ and ‘‘uniformed
service’’ has the meaning that term has in sec-
tion 101 of title 37, United States Code.
(d) DELAYED
IMPLEMENTATION.—The Adminis-
trator may delay implementation of subsections (a) and
(c) by up to 5 years if the Administrator determines that
it is in the best interests of the United States to do so.
SEC. 3. PREPAYMENT AUDITS OF TRANSPORTATION EX-
PENSES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Section 3322 of title 31, Unit-
ed States Code, is amended in subsection (c) by inserting
after ‘‘classifications’’ the following: ‘‘if the Administrator
of General Services has determined that verification by a
prepayment audit conducted pursuant to section 3726(a)
of this title for a particular mode or modes of transpor-
tation, or for an agency or subagency, will not adequately
protect the interests of the Government’’.
(2) Section 3528 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(A) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon at the end of paragraph (3), by strik-
ing the period at the end of subsection (a)(4)(C) and
inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: