[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5332 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5332
To limit the amount of expenditure on Presidential travel, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 1, 2023
Mr. Lieu (for himself and Mr. Beyer) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability,
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 2023'' or the ``SWAMP Act of 2023''.
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) President Trump spent more during his first four months
in office than President Obama did, on average, in roughly two
years.
(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 promotion of Mar-a-Lago on its
official website raises serious ethics concerns.
(6) As of October 17, 2019, 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.
(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) Air Force One flights to New York
City: $180,000/hour.
(7) As of October 17, 2019, the President has spent the
following number of days at various properties he owns:
(A) 99 days at Mar-a-Lago.
(B) 90 days at Trump National Bedminster.
(C) 76 days at Trump National Potomac.
(D) 59 days at Trump International West Palm.
(E) 22 days at Trump International Hotel.
(F) 20 days at Trump Tower.
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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