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June 27, 2023 - Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA) has reintroduced her Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act with Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) to expand disclosure requirements when Congressmembers travel using taxpayer dollars. Greater transparency into when, where, and why government officials travel would allow the American people to hold their representatives accountable for abusing official funds. 

“Americans lose faith in government when elected officials take advantage of taxpayers and shield themselves from accountability,” said Rep. Porter, Founder and Co-Chair of the End Corruption Caucus. “My legislation exposes potential wasteful spending, so Members of Congress will answer to the people if they engage in wrongdoing.”

“Members of Congress should be open with how we’re spending taxpayer money,” said Rep. Crow. “As Co-Chairs of the House End Corruption Caucus, Rep. Porter and I believe that sunlight is the best disinfectant. We are introducing the Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act to help hold members of Congress accountable as they spend taxpayer funds.”

The Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act would close loopholes and require more information from Members of Congress when they bill taxpayers for travel costs. An investigation last year revealed that some government officials exploited lax reporting rules to violate the public’s trust. Porter’s bill would prevent Representatives from hiding the details of their travel from their constituents. 

In a recent hearing, Rep. Porter called out Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signing a law to conceal his travel records from the public. Her bill would restore trust in government by holding Members of Congress to a higher standard. 

The Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act is supported by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Common Cause, Demand Progress, End Citizens United / Let America Vote Action Fund, Project On Government Oversight, and Public Citizen.

“Taxpayers deserve a full accounting of the money their members of Congress spend on official travel,” said Donald Sherman, Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “Currently, Members of Congress like Paul Gosar are free to spend thousands of taxpayer dollars on travel expenses while disclosing virtually nothing. Reps. Porter and Crow’s Transparency in Taxpayer Funded Travel Act would end that practice by requiring Members to make a full accounting of their travel expenses.”

“Transparency is key to restoring the public's faith in their elected officials,” said Tiffany Muller, President of End Citizens United / Let America Vote Action Fund. “We applaud Reps. Porter and Crow's commitment to creating a democracy that's open and accountable to the people.”

“At a time of historically low public trust in the institution of Congress and in the government more broadly, it is crucial that policymakers act to restore that trust,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Senior Government Affairs Manager at the Project On Government Oversight. “One especially pernicious way that this public distrust has grown in recent years is in reaction to regularly occurring instances of members of Congress misusing taxpayer dollars for inappropriate reasons. The Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act would help address this problem by bringing more sunlight and accountability to the use of public funds for travel by members of Congress, a system that has been abused in the past. Reps. Porter and Crow should be applauded for introducing this bill and we encourage Congress to act swiftly to enact it into law.”

“While ethics legislation passed in 2008 has made privately-sponsored travel by members of Congress fully transparent, the disclosure law did not apply to official travel paid for by the government,” said Craig Holman, Government Affairs Lobbyist at Public Citizen. “Usually, all the public knows about official travel for members of Congress is a one-line notice in annual committee reports. And that one-line rarely fills in the details of the true cost and purpose of the trips. The Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Travel Act would correct this shortcoming and extend full disclosure to official travel as well as privately-funded travel for Congress.”

In Congress, Rep. Porter consistently calls out corruption and champions government accountability. She firmly believes that modernizing government and increasing transparency is the first step towards restoring trust in our institutions. Congresswoman Porter has introduced a bill to ban Congressional stock trading and called for a judicial code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Each month, she releases her calendar online and recently reintroduced legislation to require her colleagues to do the same. Rep. Porter also successfully championed a rule to shed light on conflicts of interests when witnesses testify to Congress. 
Source: Congresswoman Katie Porter