Federal

Presidential Budget Accountability Act

Source: Congress.gov · 394 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill would stop the government from spending money on the President's travel if the President submits their yearly budget to Congress late. The bill amends federal law to create a penalty that prevents federal funds from being used for presidential travel during a specific time period when the budget is overdue.

Who It Affects

The President of the United States.

Key Provisions

• If the budget is not submitted to Congress by the first Monday in February, no federal money can be spent on presidential travel from the first Tuesday of February until the budget is actually submitted (Sec. 2) • The travel spending restrictions apply to the President's expense allowance, travel expenses, entertainment expenses, and subsistence expenses (costs for food and lodging) during trips (Sec. 2)

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, the President would lose access to federal funds for travel costs during any period when their yearly budget submission to Congress is late. This restriction would remain in place from the first Tuesday in February until the budget is submitted.

Important Definitions

The bill defines "Federal funds" to include four types of presidential expenses: the President's expense allowance, travel expenses, entertainment expenses, and subsistence expenses related to presidential travel.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 303 To amend title 31, United States Code, to limit the use of Federal funds for travel by the President if the President’s annual budget submission to Congress is late, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 7, 2023 Mr. MARSHALL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To amend title 31, United States Code, to limit the use of Federal funds for travel by the President if the Presi- dent’s annual budget submission to Congress is late, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Budget 4 Accountability Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S303.IS S303 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 303 IS SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR 1 PRESIDENTIAL TRAVEL EXPENSES IF PRESI- 2 DENT’S BUDGET IS LATE. 3 Section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, is 4 amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(j)(1) If the budget under subsection (a) is not sub- 6 mitted to Congress on or before the first Monday in Feb- 7 ruary of a year, no Federal funds may be obligated or 8 expended for the cost of travel by the President during 9 the period beginning on the first Tuesday of February of 10 such year and ending on the date the budget is submitted. 11 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘Fed- 12 eral funds’ includes amounts made available for— 13 ‘‘(A) the expense allowance of the President 14 under section 102 of title 3; 15 ‘‘(B) travel expenses of the President under sec- 16 tion 103 of title 3; 17 ‘‘(C) entertainment expenses of the President 18 under section 105(d)(3) of title 3; and 19 ‘‘(D) subsistence expenses in connection with 20 the travel of the President in section 105(d)(4) of 21 title 3.’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S303.IS S303 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.