HOTEL Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2485 To prohibit Federal agencies from using Government funds to pay for ex- penses at lodging establishments that are owned by or employ certain public officials or their relatives. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mr. UDALL, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BEN- NET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEIN- STEIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MAR- KEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TESTER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit Federal agencies from using Government funds to pay for expenses at lodging establishments that are owned by or employ certain public officials or their rel- atives. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2485 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Heightened Oversight 2 of Travel, Eating, and Lodging Act of 2019’’ or the 3 ‘‘HOTEL Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means— 7 (A) an Executive agency (as defined in sec- 8 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code), a mili- 9 tary department (as defined in section 102 of 10 title 5, United States Code), or any other estab- 11 lishment in the executive branch (including the 12 Executive Office of the President, the United 13 States Postal Service, and the Postal Regu- 14 latory Commission); 15 (B) an office, agency, or other establish- 16 ment in the legislative branch; and 17 (C) an office, agency, or other establish- 18 ment in the judicial branch. 19 (2) BENEFICIAL OWNER.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 21 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘beneficial owner’’, 22 with respect to a lodging establishment, means 23 an individual who, directly or indirectly, 24 through any contract, arrangement, under- 25 standing, relationship, or otherwise— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2485 IS (i) exercises control over the establish- 1 ment; or 2 (ii) has a substantial interest in or re- 3 ceives substantial economic benefits from 4 the assets of the establishment. 5 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘beneficial 6 owner’’ does not include, with respect to a lodg- 7 ing establishment— 8 (i) a person acting as a nominee, 9 intermediary, custodian, or agent on behalf 10 of another person; or 11 (ii) a creditor of the establishment, 12 unless the creditor also meets the require- 13 ments of subparagraph (A). 14 (C) ANTI-ABUSE RULE.—The exceptions 15 under subparagraph (B) shall not apply if used 16 for the purpose of evading, circumventing, or 17 abusing the requirements of this Act. 18 (3) CONTROL.—The term ‘‘control’’, with re- 19 spect to a lodging establishment, means— 20 (A) having the authority or ability to de- 21 termine how the establishment is utilized; or 22 (B) having decision-making power for the 23 use of the establishment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2485 IS (4) COVERED ESTABLISHMENT.—The term 1 ‘‘covered establishment’’ means a lodging establish- 2 ment that meets one or more of the following cri- 3 teria: 4 (A) A covered individual is the highest- 5 level owner, an immediate owner, or a beneficial 6 owner of the establishment. 7 (B) The establishment employs a covered 8 individual described in subparagraph (A), (B), 9 or (D) of paragraph (5). 10 (5) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 11 individual’’ means— 12 (A) the President; 13 (B) the Vice President; 14 (C) a relative of the President or Vice 15 President; and 16 (D) with respect to an agency that is an 17 Executive department, the head of the Execu- 18 tive department. 19 (6) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Ex- 20 ecutive department’’ has the meaning given the term 21 in section 101 of title 5, United States Code. 22 (7) FEDERAL EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘Federal 23 employee’’— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2485 IS (A) means an individual employed in or 1 under an agency, including— 2 (i) an individual employed intermit- 3 tently in the Government service as an ex- 4 pert or consultant and paid on a daily 5 when-actually-employed basis; and 6 (ii) an individual serving without pay 7 or at $1 a year; and 8 (B) includes— 9 (i) the President; 10 (ii) the Vice President; 11 (iii) a Member of Congress; and 12 (iv) any judge or justice who is enti- 13 tled to hold office during good behavior. 14 (8) HIGHEST-LEVEL OWNER.—The term ‘‘high- 15 est-level owner’’, with respect to a lodging establish- 16 ment, means the person that owns or controls one 17 or more of the following: 18 (A) An immediate owner of the establish- 19 ment. 20 (B) A person that owns or controls an im- 21 mediate owner of the establishment. 22 (9) IMMEDIATE OWNER.—The term ‘‘immediate 23 owner’’, with respect to a lodging establishment, 24 means a person that has direct control of the estab- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2485 IS lishment, including ownership or interlocking man- 1 agement, identity of interests among family mem- 2 bers, shared facilities and equipment, and the com- 3 mon use of employees. 4 (10) LODGING ESTABLISHMENT.—The term 5 ‘‘lodging establishment’’ means a hotel, motel, or 6 other entity that provides lodging in exchange for a 7 fee. 8 (11) PER DIEM ALLOWANCE.—The term ‘‘per 9 diem allowance’’ means a per diem allowance, as de- 10 fined in section 5701 of title 5, United States Code, 11 or any similar allowance to which a Federal em- 12 ployee is entitled, including any amounts made avail- 13 able to the head or other senior officer of an agency 14 to pay for subsistence or other expenses related to 15 travel. 16 (12) RELATIVE.—The term ‘‘relative’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 3110(a) of title 18 5, United States Code. 19 (13) SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS.—The 20 term ‘‘substantial economic benefits’’, with respect 21 to a lodging establishment, means having an entitle- 22 ment to the funds or assets of the establishment 23 that, as a practical matter, enables a person, directly 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2485 IS or indirectly, to control, manage, or direct the estab- 1 lishment. 2 (14) TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT.—The term 3 ‘‘travel reimbursement’’ means reimbursement for 4 actual and necessary expenses of official travel under 5 section 5702 of title 5, United States Code, or any 6 similar reimbursement to which a Federal employee 7 is entitled. 8 (b) PROHIBITION.—The Federal Government may 9 not authorize, pay for, reimburse, contract for, or procure 10 any good or service at or from a covered establishment, 11 including by providing travel reimbursement or a per diem 12 allowance for the cost of lodging or any other expense at 13 a covered establishment. 14 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) shall not 16 apply to— 17 (A) an expenditure by the United States 18 Secret Service or any other agency for protec- 19 tive services relating to the protection of indi- 20 viduals; 21 (B) an expenditure that, in the case of a 22 lodging establishment located in the United 23 States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or, 24 in the case of an establishment located outside 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2485 IS of the United States, the Secretary of State, de- 1 termines is necessary for purposes of pro- 2 viding— 3 (i) humanitarian assistance; or 4 (ii) disaster relief or other urgent life- 5 saving measures; or 6 (C) an expenditure by an agency at a cov- 7 ered establishment that is the only lodging es- 8 tablishment that would meet statutory or regu- 9 latory requirements for lodging or other ex- 10 penses during official travel, if, with respect to 11 an expenditure by— 12 (i) an agency described in subsection 13 (a)(1)(A), a written waiver is issued by the 14 designated agency ethics official (as de- 15 fined in section 109 of the Ethics in Gov- 16 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)) of 17 the agency; 18 (ii) an office, agency, or other estab- 19 lishment in the Senate, a written waiver is 20 issued by an official designated by the Se- 21 lect Committee on Ethics of the Senate; 22 (iii) an office, agency, or other estab- 23 lishment in the House of Representatives, 24 a written waiver is issued by an official 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2485 IS designated by the Committee on Ethics of 1 the House of Representatives; 2 (iv) an agency described in subsection 3 (a)(1)(B) that is not in the Senate or the 4 House of Representatives, a written waiver 5 is issued by an official designated by the 6 head of the agency; and 7 (v) an agency described in subsection 8 (a)(1)(C), a written waiver is issued by an 9 official designated by the Judicial Con- 10 ference of the United States. 11 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 12 (A) IMMEDIATE REPORT.— 13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 14 days after the date on which an agency 15 makes an expenditure that would be pro- 16 hibited under subsection (b) but for the ex- 17 ception under paragraph (1) of this sub- 18 section, the agency shall submit a report 19 describing the expenditure to the appro- 20 priate agency or official, including a copy 21 of each waiver issued under paragraph 22 (1)(C), if any. 23 (ii) APPROPRIATE AGENCY OR OFFI- 24 CIAL.—For purposes of clause (i), the term 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2485 IS ‘‘appropriate agency or official’’, in the 1 case of an expenditure by— 2 (I) an agency described in sub- 3 section (a)(1)(A), or an agency de- 4 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(B) that is 5 not in the Senate or the House of 6 Representatives, means the Office of 7 Government Ethics; 8 (II) an office, agency, or other 9 establishment in the Senate, means 10 the Secretary of the Senate; 11 (III) an office, agency, or other 12 establishment in the House of Rep- 13 resentatives, means the Clerk of the 14 House of Representatives; and 15 (IV) an agency described in sub- 16 section (a)(1)(C), means the Judicial 17 Conference of the United States. 18 (B) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not 19 later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal 20 year, an agency shall submit to the Committee 21 on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- 22 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Over- 23 sight and Reform of the House of Representa- 24 tives a report that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2485 IS (i) states whether the agency made an 1 expenditure described in subparagraph 2 (A)(i) during the fiscal year; and 3 (ii) if the agency made an expenditure 4 described in subparagraph (A)(i) during 5 the fiscal year, describes each expenditure 6 made, and each waiver issued, during the 7 fiscal year. 8 (d) REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES.— 9 (1) EXECUTIVE BRANCH.—The Director of the 10 Office of Government Ethics shall issue any regula- 11 tions or procedures necessary to carry out this sec- 12 tion with respect to expenditures by an agency de- 13 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(A). 14 (2) LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.— 15 (A) SENATE.—The Select Committee on 16 Ethics of the Senate shall issue any regulations 17 or procedures necessary to carry out this sec- 18 tion with respect to expenditures by an office, 19 agency, or other establishment in the Senate. 20 (B) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The 21 Committee on Ethics of the House of Rep- 22 resentatives shall issue any regulations or pro- 23 cedures necessary to carry out this section with 24 respect to expenditures by an office, agency, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2485 IS other establishment in the House of Represent- 1 atives. 2 (C) OTHER LEGISLATIVE BRANCH AGEN- 3 CIES.—The head of each agency described in 4 subsection (a)(1)(B) that is not in the Senate 5 or the House of Representatives shall issue any 6 regulations or procedures necessary to carry out 7 this section with respect to expenditures by that 8 agency. 9 (3) JUDICIAL BRANCH.—The Judicial Con- 10 ference of the United States (or such other agency 11 as it may designate) shall issue any regulations or 12 procedures necessary to carry out this section with 13 respect to expenditures by an agency described in 14 subsection (a)(1)(C). 15 (4) PARALLEL REGULATIONS AND PROCE- 16 DURES.—The regulations or procedures issued under 17 paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be the same as sub- 18 stantive regulations or procedures issued by the Di- 19 rector of the Office of Government Ethics under 20 paragraph (1) except to the extent that an agency 21 issuing regulations or procedures under paragraph 22 (2) or (3) may determine, for good cause shown and 23 stated together with the regulations or procedures, 24 that a modification of the regulations or procedures 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2485.IS S2485 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2485 IS issued under paragraph (1) would be more effective 1 for the implementation of this section with respect 2 to the agency or agencies to which the regulations 3 or procedures issued under paragraph (2) or (3) will 4 apply. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:21 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 [Text truncated for display. 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