On Tuesday, September 11, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 4631, the Government Spending Accountability Act of 2012, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for approval.  The bill was introduced on April 25, 2012, by Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which ordered the bill reported, as amended, by voice vote. 

H.R. 4631 would require agencies to provide quarterly reports to the Congress about meetings or events involving travel expenses paid with federal funds. Over the 2013-2017 period, the bill would restrict agencies’ authority to obligate funds for travel expenses (other than military travel) to 70 percent of the amount spent on travel costs in 2010. In addition, under the legislation, agencies would be prohibited from spending more than $500,000 to support a single conference. Finally, H.R. 4631 would require agencies to post any presentation materials provided at a conference sponsored by an agency or attended by federal employees on their Web sites so it would be available to the public.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that H.R. 4631 would have no significant impact on federal spending.