[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4631 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4631
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 12, 2012
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend title 5, United States Code, to institute spending limits and
transparency requirements for Federal conference and travel
expenditures, 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 ``Government Spending Accountability
Act of 2012'' or the ``GSA Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. LIMITS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR CONFERENCE AND TRAVEL SPENDING.
(a) Amendment.--Chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 5711 the following:
``Sec. 5712. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending
``(a) Conference Transparency and Spending Limits.--
``(1) Public availability of conference materials.--Each
agency shall post on the public website of that agency detailed
information on any presentation made by any employee of that
agency at a conference (except to the extent the head of an
agency excludes such information for reasons of national
security) including--
``(A) the prepared text of any verbal presentation
made; and
``(B) any visual, digital, video, or audio
materials presented, including photographs, slides, and
audio-visual recordings.
``(2) Limits on amount expended on a conference.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), an agency may not expend more than
$500,000 to support a single conference.
``(B) Exception.--The head of an agency may waive
the limitation in subparagraph (A) for a specific
conference after making a determination that the
expenditure is justified as the most cost-effective
option to achieve a compelling purpose. The head of an
agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on any waiver granted under this
subparagraph, including the justification for such
waiver.
``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to preclude an agency from
receiving financial support or other assistance from a
private entity to pay or defray the costs of a
conference the total cost of which exceeds $500,000.
``(b) International Conference Rule.--An agency may not pay the
travel expenses for more than 50 employees of that agency who are
stationed in the United States, for any international conference,
unless the Secretary of State determines that attendance for such
employees is in the national interest.
``(c) Report on Travel Expenses Required.--At the beginning of each
quarter of each fiscal year, each agency shall post on the public
website of that agency a report on each conference for which the agency
paid travel expenses during the preceding 3 months that includes--
``(1) the itemized expenses paid by the agency, including
travel expenses, and any agency expenditures to otherwise
support the conference;
``(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;
``(3) the location of the conference;
``(4) the date of the conference;
``(5) a brief explanation of how the participation of
employees from such agency at the conference advanced the
mission of the agency;
``(6) the title of any employee, or any individual who is
not a Federal employee, whose travel expenses or other
conference expenses were paid by the agency;
``(7) the total number of individuals whose travel expenses
or other conference expenses were paid by the agency; and
``(8) in the case of a conference for which that agency was
the primary sponsor, a statement that--
``(A) describes the cost to the agency of selecting
the specific conference venue;
``(B) describes why the location was selected,
including a justification for such selection;
``(C) demonstrates the cost efficiency of the
location;
``(D) provides a cost benefit analysis of holding a
conference rather than conducting a teleconference; and
``(E) describes any financial support or other
assistance from a private entity used to pay or defray
the costs of the conference, and for each case where
such support or assistance was used, the head of the
agency shall include a certification that there is no
conflict of interest resulting from such support or
assistance.
``(d) Format and Publication of Report.--Each report posted on the
public website under subsection (c) shall--
``(1) be in a searchable electronic format; and
``(2) remain on that website for at least 5 years after the
date of posting.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given that
term under section 5701, but does not include the government of
the District of Columbia.
``(2) Conference.--The term `conference' means a meeting,
retreat, seminar, symposium, or event to which an employee
travels 25 miles or more to attend, that--
``(A) is held for consultation, education,
discussion, or training; and
``(B) is not held entirely at a Government
facility.
``(3) International conference.--The term `international
conference' means a conference occurring outside the United
States attended by representatives of--
``(A) the Government of the United States; and
``(B) any foreign government, international
organization, or foreign nongovernmental
organization.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 5711 the following:
``5712. Limits and transparency for conference and travel spending.''.
(c) Annual Travel Expense Limits.--
(1) In general.--In the case of each of fiscal years 2013
through 2017, an agency (as defined under section 5712(e) of
title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)) may
not make, or obligate to make, expenditures for travel
expenses, in an aggregate amount greater than 70 percent of the
aggregate amount of such expenses for fiscal year 2010.
(2) Identification of travel expenses.--
(A) Responsibilities.--Not later than December 31,
2012, and after consultation with the Administrator of
General Services and the Director of the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget shall establish
guidelines for the determination of what expenses
constitute travel expenses for purposes of this
subsection. The guidelines shall identify specific
expenses, and classes of expenses, that are to be
treated as travel expenses.
(B) Exemption for military travel.--The guidelines
required under subparagraph (A) shall exclude military
travel expenses in determining what expenses constitute
travel expenses. Military travel expenses shall include
travel expenses involving military combat, the training
or deployment of uniformed military personnel, and such
other travel expenses as determined by the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation
with the Administrator of General Services and the
Director of the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts.
Passed the House of Representatives September 11, 2012.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.