National Journal reported today that the House Ethics Committee quietly scrapped “decades of precedent” requiring Members of the House of Representatives and certain senior staff to disclose privately funded travel on annual financial disclosure forms.

Despite this change, travel costs still must be disclosed.  Under the current House travel rules, Members of the House and all House staff must file a post-travel disclosure form with the House Ethics Committee within 15 days of their return from a privately funded trip.  The completed forms are publicly available on the House Clerk’s website.  These disclosure forms provide details regarding the cost, purpose, and sponsor of the trip.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the House Ethics Committee’s logic for eliminating the trip information on the annual financial disclosure is that the information is simply redundant; the information is on the post-travel disclosure forms.  Regardless of the logic, privately funded travel for Members of Congress and congressional staff continues to be a hot topic of public scrutiny.

Photo of Angelle Smith Baugh Angelle Smith Baugh

Angelle Smith Baugh is of counsel in the firm’s Election and Political Law and White Collar Litigation practice groups. She has significant experience in broad-based crisis management, advising clients on legal and political matters presenting complex risks.

Angelle’s practice focuses on defending companies and individuals…

Angelle Smith Baugh is of counsel in the firm’s Election and Political Law and White Collar Litigation practice groups. She has significant experience in broad-based crisis management, advising clients on legal and political matters presenting complex risks.

Angelle’s practice focuses on defending companies and individuals in high-profile congressional investigations, as well as other criminal, civil, and internal investigations. She represents clients before House and Senate Committees, as well as in criminal and civil government investigations before the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, Federal Election Commission, and the Office of Congressional Ethics.

She assists companies and executives responding to formal and informal inquiries from Congress and executive branch agencies for documents, information, and testimony. She has experience preparing CEOs and other senior executives to testify before challenging congressional oversight hearings.

Angelle also has experience and expertise navigating federal and state ethics laws, and provides ongoing political law advice to companies, trade associations, PACs, and individuals.