Title: SWAMP Act of 2017
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Stop Waste And Misuse by the President Act of 2017 or the SWAMP Act of 2017
This bill requires the President, Vice President, President-elect, Vice President-elect, or an immediate family member of such an official, whom the U.S. Secret Service is authorized to protect and who, while traveling, stays in a hotel or other establishment providing daily-rate accommodation in which that person has an ownership or financial interest, to reimburse to the Treasury: (1) any amount expended by the Secret Service for such protection, and (2) any amount expended for other costs incurred by the government pertaining to that stay.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2414 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2414

  To limit the amount of expenditure on Presidential travel, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2017

Mr. Ted Lieu of California (for himself and Mr. Nadler) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
 Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To limit the amount of expenditure on Presidential travel, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 ``Stop Waste And Misuse by the 
President Act of 2017'' or as the ``SWAMP Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Presidential travel to commercial entities owned in 
        whole or in part by the President or First Family results in 
        the American taxpayer effectively subsidizing the President's 
        businesses.
            (2) Given current expenditures, President Trump is on track 
        to spend more during his first year of office than all eight 
        years of the Obama administration combined.
            (3) It is unacceptable for the President to maintain an 
        interest in traveling to properties in which he has a direct 
        financial interest, as the U.S. Government is responsible for 
        renting space for personnel in said private commercial 
        entities.
            (4) Every time the President travels to Mar-a-Lago, he 
        necessarily promotes his private business interests via free 
        press at the Government's expense.
            (5) The State Department's recent promotion of Mar-a-Lago 
        on its official website raises serious ethics concerns.
            (6) As of April 14, 2017, President Trump has cost the U.S. 
        taxpayer unprecedented amounts of money, including the 
        following estimated costs:
                    (A) For trips to Mar-a-Lago:
                            (i) Total cost for security in Palm Beach: 
                        $3,700,000 (each trip).
                            (ii) Roundtrip flights from Joint Base 
                        Andrews, Maryland, to West Palm, Florida: 
                        $700,000.
                            (iii) Overtime for local law enforcement 
                        during Trump's trips: $60,000/day.
                            (iv) Total golf cart rentals ordered by the 
                        Secret Service ``for POTUS visit'': $35,185.
                            (v) Estimated loss of business due to 
                        airport closure: $30,000/weekend.
                    (B) For Trump Tower:
                            (i) Request for additional Secret Service 
                        funding to secure Trump Towers: $60,000,000.
                            (ii) New York Police Department security 
                        costs: $127,000-$146,000/day.
                            (iii) ``Elevator services'' ordered by the 
                        Secret Service: $64,000.
                            (iv) Air Force One flights to New York 
                        City: $180,000/hour.
            (7) The proposed 2017 Federal spending bill includes 
        reimbursements for millions of dollars spent by Florida and New 
        York to protect the President and First Family, and facilitate 
        their travel. While localities should be reimbursed, the 
        taxpayer should not be responsible for said reimbursement.

SEC. 3. REIMBURSAL FOR COSTS OF PROTECTION.

    In the case of a person whom the United States Secret Service is 
authorized to protect under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 3056(a) of 
title 18, United States Code, if that person, while traveling for 
official business or for personal purposes, stays in a hotel or other 
establishment providing daily-rate accommodation in which that person 
has an ownership or financial interest, that person shall reimburse to 
the Treasury--
            (1) any amount expended by the United States Secret Service 
        for the provision of such protection; and
            (2) any amount expended for other costs incurred by the 
        Government pertaining to that stay.
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