There have been a number of news stories written within the past several months concerning Congressional Delegation foreign trips (CODELs) and Members’ lack of transparency and misuse of allotted travel funds. According to Roll Call, over the past 10 years, travel abroad has tripled, but $30 and $40 million in travel costs have gone unreported. The Wall Street Journal recently published a great piece that describes the potential abuse of these daily travel funds (a per diem) in greater detail. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
"Congressional rules say the daily travel funds, called a per diem, must be spent on meals, cabs and other travel expenses. But when lawmakers travel, many of their meals and expenses are picked up by other people, such as foreign government officials or U.S. ambassadors.
That can leave lawmakers with leftover money. Lawmakers routinely keep the extra funds or spend it on gifts, shopping or to cover their spouses' travel expenses, according to dozens of current and former lawmakers.”
Members are technically required to return excess travel funds when they get back into the U.S., but this rule is not enforced because there is no formal collection system in place. Furthermore, Members of Congress are supposed to fill out a disclosure form when they return, detailing expenditures spent on their behalf, but the Congressional Research Service has said these reports are of ‘limited utility’ since they’re often filed late and filled with errors. Fortunately, Rep. Tim Johnson (R-IL) has introduced two different bills to try and reform the process and restore its lack of oversight.
H.R. 4447, the STAY PUT Act, would implement a 6-month moratorium on CODELs and require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on how much money Congress has spent on CODELs (since 1994) and provide recommendations on how to make them more transparent and fiscally responsible.
H.R. 5957, the Congressional Foreign Travel Reform Act, would require Members to post CODEL itineraries 14 days prior to leaving and a post-trip review 14 days after they return. This information would also be made available in the Congressional Record, on the Clerk’s website, and on the approving committee’s website. Additionally, H.R. 5957 would create a formal mechanism to return excess travel funds.
This is a very important issue that often gets dismissed. It is unfathomable for Members to abuse U.S. taxpayer funds overseas and get away with it! I hope lawmakers will address much-needed reforms to Congressional foreign trips and seek to close the all too apparent transparency loophole.