SWAMP Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4775 To limit the amount of expenditure on Presidential travel, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 21, 2019 Mr. TED LIEU of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To limit the amount of expenditure on Presidential travel, 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 subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Waste And 4 Misuse by the President Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘SWAMP 5 Act of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 7 The Congress finds as follows: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Oct 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4775.IH H4775 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4775 IH (1) Presidential travel to commercial entities 1 owned in whole or in part by the President or First 2 Family results in the American taxpayer effectively 3 subsidizing the President’s businesses. 4 (2) President Trump spent more during his 5 first four months in office than President Obama 6 did, on average, in roughly two years. 7 (3) It is unacceptable for the President to 8 maintain an interest in traveling to properties in 9 which he has a direct financial interest, as the U.S. 10 Government is responsible for renting space for per- 11 sonnel in said private commercial entities. 12 (4) Every time the President travels to Mar-a- 13 Lago, he necessarily promotes his private business 14 interests via free press at the Government’s expense. 15 (5) The State Department’s promotion of Mar- 16 a-Lago on its official website raises serious ethics 17 concerns. 18 (6) As of October 17, 2019, President Trump 19 has cost the U.S. taxpayer unprecedented amounts 20 of money, including the following estimated costs: 21 (A) For trips to Mar-a-Lago: 22 (i) Total cost for security in Palm 23 Beach: $3,700,000 (each trip). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Oct 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4775.IH H4775 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4775 IH (ii) Roundtrip flights from Joint Base 1 Andrews, Maryland, to West Palm, Flor- 2 ida: $700,000. 3 (iii) Overtime for local law enforce- 4 ment during Trump’s trips: $60,000/day. 5 (B) For Trump Tower: 6 (i) Request for additional Secret Serv- 7 ice funding to secure Trump Towers: 8 $60,000,000. 9 (ii) New York Police Department se- 10 curity costs: $127,000–$146,000/day. 11 (iv) Air Force One flights to New 12 York City: $180,000/hour. 13 (7) As of October 17, 2019, the President has 14 spent the following number of days at various prop- 15 erties he owns: 16 (A) 99 days at Mar-a-Lago. 17 (B) 90 days at Trump National 18 Bedminster. 19 (C) 76 days at Trump National Potomac. 20 (D) 59 days at Trump International West 21 Palm. 22 (E) 22 days at Trump International Hotel. 23 (F) 20 days at Trump Tower. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Oct 29, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4775.IH H4775 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4775 IH SEC. 103. REIMBURSAL FOR COSTS OF PROTECTION. 1 In the case of a person whom the United States Se- 2 cret Service is authorized to protect under paragraph (1) 3 or (2) of section 3056(a) of title 18, United States Code, 4 if that person, while traveling for official business or for 5 personal purposes, stays in a hotel or other establishment 6 providing daily-rate accommodation in which that person 7 has an ownership or financial interest, that person shall 8 reimburse to the Treasury— 9 (1) any amount expended by the United States 10 Secret Service for the provision of such protection; 11 and 12 (2) any amount expended for other costs in- 13 curred by the Government pertaining to that stay. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Oct 27, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4775.IH H4775 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS