Description:
As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on July 30, 2014
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1347 would have no significant net effect on the federal budget over the 2015-2019 period. The legislation would limit to $500,000 the amount any federal agency could spend to attend or host a single conference. Under the bill, no more than 50 federal employees working for the same department and stationed in the United States would be allowed to attend the same conference held outside of the United States. In addition, the legislation would require each agency to post quarterly reports on its website containing detailed information about all conferences hosted or attended by their employees that involve expenses of $50,000 or more.
Most of the provisions of S. 1347 would codify or expand current practices of the federal government. Through Executive Orders, memorandums, and bulletins, federal agencies have already been directed to reduce conference and travel costs, as well as to review the need to attend conferences with expenses over various thresholds. The federal government spent almost $15 billion on travel-related expenses in fiscal year 2012 and almost $12 billion in fiscal year 2013. We expect that there would be some minor additional costs for agencies to prepare reports on travel expenses and to post materials on their websites.
The legislation also could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through annual appropriations. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase in spending by those agencies would not be significant. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
S. 1347 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
