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IV. Official Travel
General Provisions
Official travel is travel paid for or authorized by the House. Official travel includes travel paid for with the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) or committee funds, CODELs, and STAFFDELs.
The Committee on House Administration oversees travel paid for with MRA or committee funds. If you or your Member would like to travel within the United States and use House funds, you may contact the Democratic staff at 202-225-2061 or the Republican staff at 202-225-8281. The Committee and the Committee on House Administration also issued joint guidance about official travel.
CODELs and STAFFDELs are official travel to a foreign country and must be authorized by the Speaker or a committee chair.[32] For questions about CODELs and STAFFDELs, please call the Office of Interparliamentary Affairs at 202-226-1766.
[32] See House Rule 1, cl. 10 (Speaker authorized travel); House Rule 10, cl 8 (funding of foreign travel); House Rule 24, cl. 10 (prohibiting travel by Member not re-elected after general election or adjournment sine die; 22 U.S.C. § 1754(b) (funding for foreign travel).
Travel paid for with official funds does not need to be pre-approved by the Committee or reported on your annual financial disclosure statement.[33]
[33] Travel paid for with official funds is not subject to the Committee’s Travel Regulations and does not need to be reported within 15 days of return. Additionally, travel paid for with official funds does not need to be reported on annual financial disclosure statements.
No Private Subsidy of Official Travel
As discussed in the privately-sponsored, officially-connected travel section, outside entities may not pay for official travel, whether monetary or in- kind.[34]
[34] House Rule 24, cls. 1-3 prohibit outside supplementation, both monetary and in-kind, for official House business. However, local transportation expenses that Members, officers, and employees may accept under the House Gift Rule are permitted (e.g., local transportation for a widely-attended event). See generally House Rule 25, cl. 5.
House funds and privately-sponsored, officially-connected travel may not be co-mingled. For example
Example. A committee chairman decided to fund Member travel to a conference with committee funds. The sponsor of the conference offers to provide lodging and meals for the Members without charge. The Members may not accept the sponsor’s office. Because official funds will be used for the airfare, the trip is an official trip. Therefore, acceptance of the sponsor’s offer would be an impermissible private subsidy of official activity.
Example. A Member plans to travel to a conference using MRA funds. The sponsor of the conference invites one of the Member’s employees to travel to the conference at the sponsor’s expense. The employee may not travel to the conference at the sponsor’s expense. Because the Member is using official funds, the Member determined that attendance at the conference is an official activity.
You may accept gifts that are allowed under the House Gift Rule, even while on official travel.
Example. At the same conference as the previous example, the conference sponsor instead offers to comp the Member and employee’s registration fees. Assuming attendance at the conference meets the requirements for a widely-attended event, the Member and employee may accept the comped registration fees, but still pay for transportation, lodging, and meals outside the conference using official funds.
Please see the Committee’s guidance on Gifts for further information.
Official Travel Using Campaign Funds
Generally, a Member may pay for official travel for the Member or the Member’s employees using the Member’s principal campaign committee funds.[35] The Member may pay for travel for personal office staff and for committee staff using principal campaign committee funds.
[35] House Rule 24, cl. 1(b)(1) allows Members to use principal campaign committee funds to defray official expenses. Members, however, may not use principal campaign committee funds to defray certain enumerated official expenses. Those specific exclusions are 1) mail or other communications, 2) compensation for services, 3) office space, 4) office furniture, 5) office equipment, or 6) any associated information technology services, excluding handheld communications devices. House Rule 24, cl. 1(b)(2).
Additionally, because the Committee has overlapping jurisdiction with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over the use of principal campaign committee funds for official expenses, anyone wishing to use principal campaign committee funds for official expenses allowed under House Rule 24 should also confer with the FEC’s congressional liaisons at 202-694-1006 to ensure that it meets the FEC’s relevant tests. The Committee understands that travel for an official purpose generally meets the FEC’s test, but travel questions are fact-specific and changes in facts could change the guidance you receive.
Official Travel Using Personal Funds
Members may use their own personal funds to pay for official travel. Members may pay for their own travel, or travel of their employees.
Employees may not use personal funds to pay for official travel.[36] The employee’s Member must reimburse any expenses that employee incurs for official travel.
[36] House Rule 24, cl. 1 prohibits the use of staff’s personal funds for official activities. Members, however, are personally responsible for expenses that exceed the MRA. See Comm. on House Admin., Members’ Congressional Handbook. Therefore, Members’ use of their personal funds for official activities is not considered private subsidy of official business.
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