Title: Fly Smart Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Fly Smart Act
This bill establishes standards for airline travel by federal employees for official business, including a general requirement to use coach-class accommodations and a ban on military aircraft for domestic official travel. It allows use of first-class and business class for federal employees under certain circumstances, such as to accommodate a disability or special need or because of exceptional security circumstances.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1559 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1559

 To provide standards relating to airline travel by Federal employees 
                         for official business.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2019

  Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 
                   Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide standards relating to airline travel by Federal employees 
                         for official business.

    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 ``Fly Smart Act''.

SEC. 2. AIRLINE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT TRAVEL.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Coach-class requirement.--Except as provided in 
        subsection (b), for official travel, both domestic and 
        international, a covered employee, including the head of an 
        agency, shall use coach-class accommodations.
            (2) Ban on military aircraft for domestic travel.--A 
        covered employee, including the head of an agency, may not 
        travel on a military aircraft for domestic official travel 
        unless--
                    (A) the destination of the covered employee is a 
                military installation; or
                    (B) the covered employee is serving in, or applying 
                to, as applicable, a position in the Department of 
                Defense.
    (b) Exceptions.--
            (1) First-class and business class.--Subject to the other 
        provisions of this subsection, the head of the agency employing 
        a covered employee (or to which a covered employee is applying, 
        as applicable), or in the case of the head of an agency, the 
        White House Chief of Staff, may sign a waiver authorizing the 
        covered employee or the agency head, as applicable, to use--
                    (A) first-class accommodations for official travel 
                if--
                            (i) no coach-class accommodations are 
                        available on any flight that is scheduled to--
                                    (I) leave not more than 24 hours 
                                before the proposed departure time of 
                                the covered employee or the agency 
                                head; or
                                    (II) arrive not more than 24 hours 
                                after the proposed arrival time of the 
                                covered employee or the agency head;
                            (ii) the use of first-class accommodations 
                        is necessary to accommodate a disability or a 
                        special need that has been certified under 
                        paragraph (4); or
                            (iii) the use of first-class accommodations 
                        is necessary because of exceptional security 
                        circumstances, which--
                                    (I) shall be established by the 
                                individual signing the waiver;
                                    (II) shall be found only when 
                                required to meet the mission of the 
                                agency in which the covered employee or 
                                the agency head is employed, or to 
                                which the covered employee is applying, 
                                as applicable; and
                                    (III) include a situation in 
                                which--
                                            (aa) the use of 
                                        accommodations other than 
                                        first-class accommodations 
                                        would endanger--

                                                    (AA) the life of 
                                                the covered employee or 
                                                the agency head; or

                                                    (BB) Government 
                                                property;

                                            (bb) the covered employee 
                                        is--

                                                    (AA) an agent on 
                                                protective detail; and

                                                    (BB) accompanying 
                                                an individual who is 
                                                authorized to use 
                                                first-class 
                                                accommodations; or

                                            (cc) the covered employee 
                                        is a courier or control officer 
                                        accompanying controlled pouches 
                                        or packages; and
                    (B) business-class accommodations for official 
                travel if--
                            (i) the use of business-class 
                        accommodations is necessary because of a 
                        situation described in clause (ii) or (iii) of 
                        subparagraph (A);
                            (ii) coach-class accommodations on an 
                        authorized or approved foreign airline do not 
                        provide adequate sanitation or health 
                        standards;
                            (iii)(I) regularly scheduled flights 
                        between origin and destination points, 
                        including connecting points, provide only other 
                        than coach-class accommodations; and
                            (II) the covered employee or the agency 
                        head certifies, on the voucher of the covered 
                        employee or the agency head, that the situation 
                        described in subclause (I) applies;
                            (iv) the transportation costs of the 
                        covered employee or the agency head are paid in 
                        full through the acceptance by the agency in 
                        which the covered employee or the agency head 
                        is employed, or to which the covered employee 
                        is applying, as applicable, of payment from a 
                        non-Federal source in accordance with chapter 
                        300 of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, 
                        or any successor regulation;
                            (v) subject to paragraph (5), with respect 
                        to a situation in which the origin or the 
                        destination of the travel is outside the 
                        continental United States--
                                    (I) the scheduled flight time is 
                                more than 14 hours; and
                                    (II) the covered employee or the 
                                agency head is required to report to 
                                duty not later than the day after the 
                                date on which the travel of the covered 
                                employee or the agency head begins;
                            (vi) the use of the accommodations results 
                        in overall cost savings to the Federal 
                        Government by avoiding additional subsistence 
                        costs, overtime, or lost productive time while 
                        the covered employee or the agency head waits 
                        for coach-class accommodations to become 
                        available;
                            (vii) no space is available in coach-class 
                        accommodations in time to accomplish the 
                        mission of the agency in which the covered 
                        employee or the agency head is employed, or to 
                        which the covered employee is applying, as 
                        applicable, which is urgent and cannot be 
                        postponed; or
                            (viii) when required because of the mission 
                        of the agency in which the covered employee or 
                        the agency head is employed, or to which the 
                        covered employee is applying, as applicable, 
                        consistent with the internal procedures of that 
                        agency.
            (2) Disclosure of cost.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        date on which official travel for which the head of an agency 
        or the White House Chief of Staff has signed a waiver under 
        paragraph (1) ends, the head of the agency or the White House 
        Chief of Staff, as applicable, shall disclose on a public 
        website--
                    (A) the signed waiver;
                    (B) the exception under that paragraph on which the 
                head of the agency or the White House Chief of Staff 
                relied when authorizing the travel; and
                    (C) the cost of any flight in other than coach-
                class accommodations with respect to the waiver.
            (3) No blanket approval.--The head of the agency employing 
        a covered employee (or to which a covered employee is applying, 
        as applicable), or in the case of the head of an agency, the 
        White House Chief of Staff, may authorize a covered employee or 
        an agency head, as applicable, to use accommodations other than 
        coach-class accommodations for official travel only on a case-
        by-case basis, unless the covered employee or the agency head 
        has a disability or a special need that has been certified 
        under paragraph (4).
            (4) Certification of disability or special need.--
                    (A) Disability.--
                            (i) In general.--A disability described in 
                        paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be certified 
                        annually, unless the disability is a lifelong 
                        condition, in which case the disability shall 
                        be certified once.
                            (ii) Contents.--A certification required 
                        under clause (i) shall include, at a minimum--
                                    (I) a written statement by a 
                                competent medical authority stating 
                                that a special accommodation for the 
                                covered employee is necessary;
                                    (II) an approximate duration of the 
                                special accommodation described in 
                                subclause (I); and
                                    (III) a recommendation regarding 
                                the suitable class of transportation 
                                for the covered employee based on the 
                                disability.
                    (B) Special need.--The special need of a covered 
                employee, including the head of an agency, described in 
                paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be certified annually 
                (unless the special need is a lifelong condition, in 
                which case the special need shall be certified once) in 
                accordance with the procedures of the agency in which 
                the covered employee is employed, or to which the 
                covered employee is applying, as applicable.
            (5) Application of 14-hour rule.--A covered employee, 
        including the head of an agency, who travels using business-
        class accommodations under paragraph (1)(B)(v) shall not be 
        eligible for a rest stop on the way to, or upon arrival at, the 
        duty site of the covered employee.
            (6) Inclusion of attendant.--If a covered employee, 
        including the head of an agency, the travel of whom in 
        accommodations other than coach-class accommodations is 
        authorized because of a disability or special need that is 
        certified under paragraph (4), is authorized to have an 
        attendant accompany that covered employee, the head of the 
        agency employing the covered employee (or to which a covered 
        employee is applying, as applicable), or in the case of the 
        head of an agency, the White House Chief of Staff, may also 
        authorize the attendant to use other than coach-class 
        accommodations during that travel.
            (7) Limit on delegation.--The head of an agency and the 
        White House Chief of Staff may not delegate the duties and 
        authorities under this subsection, except for the duties and 
        authorities under paragraph (2).
    (c) Rules of Construction.--
            (1) Upgrades.--Nothing in this section may be construed to 
        prevent a covered employee from upgrading to first-class 
        accommodations or business-class accommodations for official 
        travel at the personal expense of the covered employee, 
        including through the redemption by the covered employee of 
        frequent flyer benefits.
            (2) Two cabins available.--
                    (A) Different seat types.--If an airline flight has 
                2 classes of accommodations available with 2 distinctly 
                different seating types (including a situation in which 
                the girth and pitch of the seats between the 2 cabins 
                are different), the airline terms the front cabin as 
                business-class accommodations or higher, and the 
                tickets for the flight are fare-coded as business-class 
                accommodations, the front cabin shall be construed to 
                be other than coach-class accommodations for the 
                purposes of this section.
                    (B) Identical seat types.--If an airline flight has 
                2 cabins available with 1 type of seating available for 
                the entire aircraft (such that the girth and pitch of 
                the seats are identical in both cabins), the seats in 
                the front cabin are fare-coded as full-fare economy 
                class, and only restricted economy fares are available 
                in the rear cabin, the entire aircraft shall be 
                construed to be coach-class accommodations for the 
                purposes of this section.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``agency'' has the meaning given the term 
        ``Executive agency'' in section 105 of title 5, United States 
        Code;
            (2) the term ``business-class accommodations'' means a 
        premium class of accommodation offered by an airline that--
                    (A) is more expensive, and offers more amenities, 
                than coach-class accommodations;
                    (B) is less expensive, and offers fewer amenities, 
                than first-class accommodations; and
                    (C) is occasionally described by the airline using 
                terms including ``business'', ``business elite'', 
                ``business first'', ``world business'', 
                ``connoisseur'', and ``envoy'';
            (3) the term ``coach-class accommodations''--
                    (A) means the basic class of accommodation offered 
                to a traveler on an airline and which is normally the 
                lowest fare offered by the airline, without regard to 
                the terminology used to describe the accommodations; 
                and
                    (B) is occasionally described by an airline using 
                terms including--
                            (i) ``tourist class'' or ``economy-class''; 
                        and
                            (ii) ``single class'' if the airline offers 
                        1 class of accommodations to all travelers;
            (4) the term ``covered employee'' means--
                    (A) an employee traveling on official business;
                    (B) an individual who is--
                            (i) interviewing for a position as an 
                        employee; and
                            (ii) performing pre-employment interview 
                        travel;
                    (C) an employee who is required to interrupt the 
                official business travel of the employee to perform 
                emergency travel as a result of--
                            (i) an incapacitating illness or injury; or
                            (ii) a personal emergency situation; or
                    (D) an employee who--
                            (i) is employed in a law enforcement or 
                        investigative capacity; and
                            (ii) along with the family members of the 
                        employee, is required to relocate temporarily 
                        to safeguard the life of the employee, and any 
                        family members of the employee, as applicable, 
                        because of a threat resulting from the assigned 
                        duties of the employee;
            (5) the term ``employee'' means an individual employed in 
        or under an agency, including an individual employed 
        intermittently in the Government service as an expert or 
        consultant and paid on a daily when-actually-employed basis and 
        an individual serving without pay or at $1 a year;
            (6) the term ``first-class accommodations'' means the 
        highest class of accommodation offered by an airline with 
        respect to cost and amenities;
            (7) the term ``other than coach-class accommodations''--
                    (A) means any class of accommodation above coach-
                class accommodations; and
                    (B) includes first-class accommodations and 
                business-class accommodations; and
            (8) the term ``scheduled flight time''--
                    (A) with respect to air travel, means the flight 
                time between the originating departure point of the 
                travel and the ultimate arrival point of the travel;
                    (B) includes scheduled non-overnight time spent at 
                an airport during a change of planes; and
                    (C) does not include time spent at the originating 
                or ultimate arrival airport.
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