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S. 429: Cleaning Up Congress by Providing Accountability for Congressional Foreign Travel Act

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S. 429: Cleaning Up Congress by Providing Accountability for Congressional Foreign Travel Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-03-01 · Congress · Latest: Star Print ordered on the bill.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2011-03-01 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. McCaskill, Claire [D-MO] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Star Print ordered on the bill. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Cleaning Up Congress by Providing Accountability for Congressional Foreign Travel Act

Plain summary

Cleaning Up Congress by Providing Accountability for Congressional Foreign Travel Act - Amends the Mutual Security Act of 1954 to revise requirements with respect to the availability, use, and reporting of foreign currency by Members and employees of Congress. Requires a review by current authorizing officials of specified travel-related information before approval or denial of any foreign travel authorization or appropriated dollar expenditures in connection with it. Requires each Member or employee provided a per diem to: (1) take necessary actions to reduce costs incurred for such travel, and (2) return to the appropriate chamber any unexpended per diem at the conclusion of the travel, which shall be used for deficit reduction. Prohibits, unless authorized by the appropriate chamber, the receipt of federal funds (including foreign currencies made available under this Act) by any Member of either chamber who is retiring or has been defeated for re-election in a primary. Applies such foreign travel restrictions also to Member's employees, elected officers of both chambers, and committee employees whose employment will terminate at the end of a Congress. Exempts from such restrictions travel to a military installation or a theater of operations of the Armed Forces. Allows a Member or employee to obtain a waiver of such travel restrictions by the authorizing officials. Requires the chair of each congressional committee and joint committee to prepare and forward to the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate a consolidated report specifying foreign travel taken by committee Members or employees,which shall be made available on the official public websites of the Clerk and of the Secretary. Authorizes the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence or the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in his or her discretion, to omit from the consolidated report any information that would identify the foreign countries in which Members and employees of that Committee traveled. Prescribes and/or revises requirements for Member and employee travel reports. Requires the Comptroller General to study the amount of appropriated funds for official foreign travel by Members, officers, and employees of both chambers, and make recommendations for determining the funding level for such travel which will promote transparency and cost savings.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Cleaning Up Congress by Providing Accountability for Congressional Foreign Travel Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. McCaskill, Claire [D-MO] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-s429 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112