H.R. 10289: Government Travel Transparency Act

This bill would require the Government Accountability Office’s Comptroller General to produce a public report on how certain federal officials use aircraft owned or operated by the federal government.

What the report would cover

Within 30 days after the bill becomes law, and then every three months after that, the GAO would have to submit a report to Congress and post it on its website. The report would analyze flight use by a set list of “covered officials,” which includes:

• The President and Vice President
• Several cabinet secretaries and agency heads
• Top officials at agencies such as the EPA, FBI, CIA, ODNI, OMB, and others

The report would identify:

• Each time a covered official used federal aircraft for travel related to a federal election or political activity, and whether the government was reimbursed for that use
• Each time a covered official used federal aircraft for personal travel when the Comptroller General determines another form of transportation would have been more cost-effective

How the report would be prepared

The Comptroller General would have to use information from the General Services Administration, including the GSA Travel Reporting Tool. The bill also says the report may not include the location of a covered official at a specific time.

What the bill does not do

The bill does not change who may use federal aircraft, and it does not set new rules about when such travel is allowed. It mainly adds reporting and public disclosure requirements about certain uses of government aircraft by specified officials.

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