Fly Smart Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1559 To provide standards relating to airline travel by Federal employees for official business. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 21, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs A BILL To provide standards relating to airline travel by Federal employees for official business. 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 ‘‘Fly Smart Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. AIRLINE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR OFFICIAL GOV- 5 ERNMENT TRAVEL. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 7 (1) COACH-CLASS REQUIREMENT.—Except as 8 provided in subsection (b), for official travel, both 9 domestic and international, a covered employee, in- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1559 IS cluding the head of an agency, shall use coach-class 1 accommodations. 2 (2) BAN ON MILITARY AIRCRAFT FOR DOMESTIC 3 TRAVEL.—A covered employee, including the head of 4 an agency, may not travel on a military aircraft for 5 domestic official travel unless— 6 (A) the destination of the covered employee 7 is a military installation; or 8 (B) the covered employee is serving in, or 9 applying to, as applicable, a position in the De- 10 partment of Defense. 11 (b) EXCEPTIONS.— 12 (1) FIRST-CLASS AND BUSINESS CLASS.—Sub- 13 ject to the other provisions of this subsection, the 14 head of the agency employing a covered employee (or 15 to which a covered employee is applying, as applica- 16 ble), or in the case of the head of an agency, the 17 White House Chief of Staff, may sign a waiver au- 18 thorizing the covered employee or the agency head, 19 as applicable, to use— 20 (A) first-class accommodations for official 21 travel if— 22 (i) no coach-class accommodations are 23 available on any flight that is scheduled 24 to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1559 IS (I) leave not more than 24 hours 1 before the proposed departure time of 2 the covered employee or the agency 3 head; or 4 (II) arrive not more than 24 5 hours after the proposed arrival time 6 of the covered employee or the agency 7 head; 8 (ii) the use of first-class accommoda- 9 tions is necessary to accommodate a dis- 10 ability or a special need that has been cer- 11 tified under paragraph (4); or 12 (iii) the use of first-class accommoda- 13 tions is necessary because of exceptional 14 security circumstances, which— 15 (I) shall be established by the in- 16 dividual signing the waiver; 17 (II) shall be found only when re- 18 quired to meet the mission of the 19 agency in which the covered employee 20 or the agency head is employed, or to 21 which the covered employee is apply- 22 ing, as applicable; and 23 (III) include a situation in 24 which— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1559 IS (aa) the use of accommoda- 1 tions other than first-class ac- 2 commodations would endanger— 3 (AA) the life of the cov- 4 ered employee or the agency 5 head; or 6 (BB) Government prop- 7 erty; 8 (bb) the covered employee 9 is— 10 (AA) an agent on pro- 11 tective detail; and 12 (BB) accompanying an 13 individual who is authorized 14 to use first-class accom- 15 modations; or 16 (cc) the covered employee is 17 a courier or control officer ac- 18 companying controlled pouches or 19 packages; and 20 (B) business-class accommodations for offi- 21 cial travel if— 22 (i) the use of business-class accom- 23 modations is necessary because of a situa- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1559 IS tion described in clause (ii) or (iii) of sub- 1 paragraph (A); 2 (ii) coach-class accommodations on an 3 authorized or approved foreign airline do 4 not provide adequate sanitation or health 5 standards; 6 (iii)(I) regularly scheduled flights be- 7 tween origin and destination points, includ- 8 ing connecting points, provide only other 9 than coach-class accommodations; and 10 (II) the covered employee or the agen- 11 cy head certifies, on the voucher of the 12 covered employee or the agency head, that 13 the situation described in subclause (I) ap- 14 plies; 15 (iv) the transportation costs of the 16 covered employee or the agency head are 17 paid in full through the acceptance by the 18 agency in which the covered employee or 19 the agency head is employed, or to which 20 the covered employee is applying, as appli- 21 cable, of payment from a non-Federal 22 source in accordance with chapter 300 of 23 title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, or 24 any successor regulation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1559 IS (v) subject to paragraph (5), with re- 1 spect to a situation in which the origin or 2 the destination of the travel is outside the 3 continental United States— 4 (I) the scheduled flight time is 5 more than 14 hours; and 6 (II) the covered employee or the 7 agency head is required to report to 8 duty not later than the day after the 9 date on which the travel of the cov- 10 ered employee or the agency head be- 11 gins; 12 (vi) the use of the accommodations re- 13 sults in overall cost savings to the Federal 14 Government by avoiding additional subsist- 15 ence costs, overtime, or lost productive 16 time while the covered employee or the 17 agency head waits for coach-class accom- 18 modations to become available; 19 (vii) no space is available in coach- 20 class accommodations in time to accom- 21 plish the mission of the agency in which 22 the covered employee or the agency head is 23 employed, or to which the covered em- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1559 IS ployee is applying, as applicable, which is 1 urgent and cannot be postponed; or 2 (viii) when required because of the 3 mission of the agency in which the covered 4 employee or the agency head is employed, 5 or to which the covered employee is apply- 6 ing, as applicable, consistent with the in- 7 ternal procedures of that agency. 8 (2) DISCLOSURE OF COST.—Not later than 90 9 days after the date on which official travel for which 10 the head of an agency or the White House Chief of 11 Staff has signed a waiver under paragraph (1) ends, 12 the head of the agency or the White House Chief of 13 Staff, as applicable, shall disclose on a public 14 website— 15 (A) the signed waiver; 16 (B) the exception under that paragraph on 17 which the head of the agency or the White 18 House Chief of Staff relied when authorizing 19 the travel; and 20 (C) the cost of any flight in other than 21 coach-class accommodations with respect to the 22 waiver. 23 (3) NO BLANKET APPROVAL.—The head of the 24 agency employing a covered employee (or to which a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1559 IS covered employee is applying, as applicable), or in 1 the case of the head of an agency, the White House 2 Chief of Staff, may authorize a covered employee or 3 an agency head, as applicable, to use accommoda- 4 tions other than coach-class accommodations for of- 5 ficial travel only on a case-by-case basis, unless the 6 covered employee or the agency head has a disability 7 or a special need that has been certified under para- 8 graph (4). 9 (4) CERTIFICATION OF DISABILITY OR SPECIAL 10 NEED.— 11 (A) DISABILITY.— 12 (i) IN GENERAL.—A disability de- 13 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall be 14 certified annually, unless the disability is a 15 lifelong condition, in which case the dis- 16 ability shall be certified once. 17 (ii) CONTENTS.—A certification re- 18 quired under clause (i) shall include, at a 19 minimum— 20 (I) a written statement by a com- 21 petent medical authority stating that 22 a special accommodation for the cov- 23 ered employee is necessary; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1559 IS (II) an approximate duration of 1 the special accommodation described 2 in subclause (I); and 3 (III) a recommendation regard- 4 ing the suitable class of transportation 5 for the covered employee based on the 6 disability. 7 (B) SPECIAL NEED.—The special need of a 8 covered employee, including the head of an 9 agency, described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall 10 be certified annually (unless the special need is 11 a lifelong condition, in which case the special 12 need shall be certified once) in accordance with 13 the procedures of the agency in which the cov- 14 ered employee is employed, or to which the cov- 15 ered employee is applying, as applicable. 16 (5) APPLICATION OF 14-HOUR RULE.—A cov- 17 ered employee, including the head of an agency, who 18 travels using business-class accommodations under 19 paragraph (1)(B)(v) shall not be eligible for a rest 20 stop on the way to, or upon arrival at, the duty site 21 of the covered employee. 22 (6) INCLUSION OF ATTENDANT.—If a covered 23 employee, including the head of an agency, the travel 24 of whom in accommodations other than coach-class 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1559 IS accommodations is authorized because of a disability 1 or special need that is certified under paragraph (4), 2 is authorized to have an attendant accompany that 3 covered employee, the head of the agency employing 4 the covered employee (or to which a covered em- 5 ployee is applying, as applicable), or in the case of 6 the head of an agency, the White House Chief of 7 Staff, may also authorize the attendant to use other 8 than coach-class accommodations during that travel. 9 (7) LIMIT ON DELEGATION.—The head of an 10 agency and the White House Chief of Staff may not 11 delegate the duties and authorities under this sub- 12 section, except for the duties and authorities under 13 paragraph (2). 14 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 15 (1) UPGRADES.—Nothing in this section may 16 be construed to prevent a covered employee from up- 17 grading to first-class accommodations or business- 18 class accommodations for official travel at the per- 19 sonal expense of the covered employee, including 20 through the redemption by the covered employee of 21 frequent flyer benefits. 22 (2) TWO CABINS AVAILABLE.— 23 (A) DIFFERENT SEAT TYPES.—If an air- 24 line flight has 2 classes of accommodations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1559 IS available with 2 distinctly different seating 1 types (including a situation in which the girth 2 and pitch of the seats between the 2 cabins are 3 different), the airline terms the front cabin as 4 business-class accommodations or higher, and 5 the tickets for the flight are fare-coded as busi- 6 ness-class accommodations, the front cabin 7 shall be construed to be other than coach-class 8 accommodations for the purposes of this sec- 9 tion. 10 (B) IDENTICAL SEAT TYPES.—If an airline 11 flight has 2 cabins available with 1 type of seat- 12 ing available for the entire aircraft (such that 13 the girth and pitch of the seats are identical in 14 both cabins), the seats in the front cabin are 15 fare-coded as full-fare economy class, and only 16 restricted economy fares are available in the 17 rear cabin, the entire aircraft shall be construed 18 to be coach-class accommodations for the pur- 19 poses of this section. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act— 22 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 23 the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ in section 105 of title 24 5, United States Code; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1559 IS (2) the term ‘‘business-class accommodations’’ 1 means a premium class of accommodation offered by 2 an airline that— 3 (A) is more expensive, and offers more 4 amenities, than coach-class accommodations; 5 (B) is less expensive, and offers fewer 6 amenities, than first-class accommodations; and 7 (C) is occasionally described by the airline 8 using terms including ‘‘business’’, ‘‘business 9 elite’’, ‘‘business first’’, ‘‘world business’’, ‘‘con- 10 noisseur’’, and ‘‘envoy’’; 11 (3) the term ‘‘coach-class accommodations’’— 12 (A) means the basic class of accommoda- 13 tion offered to a traveler on an airline and 14 which is normally the lowest fare offered by the 15 airline, without regard to the terminology used 16 to describe the accommodations; and 17 (B) is occasionally described by an airline 18 using terms including— 19 (i) ‘‘tourist class’’ or ‘‘economy-class’’; 20 and 21 (ii) ‘‘single class’’ if the airline offers 22 1 class of accommodations to all travelers; 23 (4) the term ‘‘covered employee’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1559.IS S1559 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1559 IS (A) an employee traveling on official busi- 1 ness; 2 (B) an individual who is— 3 (i) interviewing for a position as an 4 employee; and 5 (ii) performing pre-employment inter- 6 view travel; 7 (C) an employee who is required to inter- 8 rupt the official business travel of the employee 9 to perform emergency travel as a result of— 10 (i) an incapacitating illness or injury; 11 or 12 (ii) a personal emergency situation; or 13 (D) an employee who— 14 (i) is employed in a law enforcement 15 or investigative capacity; and 16 (ii) along with the family members of 17 the employee, is required to relocate tem- 18 porarily to safeguard the life of the em- 19 ployee, and any family members of the em- 20 ployee, as applicable, because of a threat 21 resulting from the assigned duties of the 22 employee; 23 (5) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an individual 24 employed in or under an agency, including an indi- 25 VerDate Sep [Text truncated for display. 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