,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bfdc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #aj1 #bjac ,mr4
 ,fitzpatrick 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,barrow
 of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,thompson of         
,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4        
,coffman1 ,ms4 ,brownley of ,california1
 ,mr4 ,matheson1 and ,mr4 ,griffin of   
,arkansas7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,oversight and ,government
 ,reform1 and in addition to the        
,committee on ,appropriations1 for a    
period to be subsequently determined by 
the ,speaker1 in each case for          
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
provide for a review of efforts to      
reduce ,federal agency travel expenses  
through the use of video conferencing   
and a plan to achieve additional        
reductions in such expenses through the 
use of video conferencing1 to implement 
such plan through rescissions of        

appropriations1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,stay in ,place1 ,cut the ,waste
 ,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,findings ,congress
 finds the following3  7#a7 ,the        
,federal ,government spends billions of 
dollars per year on travel to           
conferences1 training programs1 business
 meetings1 court and administrative     
hearings1 and other related activities4 
7#b7 ,on ,november #i1 #bjaa1 ,president
 ,barack ,obama issued ,executive ,order
 #acehi 7#gf ,fed4 ,reg4 #gjhfc2        
relating to promoting efficient         
spending74 ,section #b of such          
,executive order directs the head of    
each executive department or agency to  
establish a plan for fiscal year #bjac  
to reduce the combined expenses         
associated with a variety of activities1
 including travel1 by not less than #bj 
percent below fiscal year #bjaj levels4 
7#c7 ,section #c of ,executive ,order   
#acehi addresses travel spending and    
provides1 in part1 for the use of video 

conferencing4  7#d7 ,in ,may #bjab1 the 
,director of the ,office of ,management 
and ,budget instructed the heads of     
executive departments and agencies to   
reduce their travel budgets in fiscal   
year #bjac to #cj percent below fiscal  
year #bjaj levels4  7#e7 ,while the     
,administration has made efforts to     
utilize video conferencing and reduce   
travel expenses1 such practices are     
still a largely untapped means of saving
 taxpayer dollars4  7#f7 ,the ,telework 
,enhancement ,act of #bjaj 7,public ,law
 #aaa-bib7 requires the head of each    
executive agency to establish a policy  
under which eligible employees of such  
agency may be authorized to telework4   
7#g7 ,the video conferencing industry   
has shifted from a hardware-based model 
to a browser-based model1 leading to    
reduced expenses and increased          
efficiency in a system that is able to  
meet the needs in daily commerce for    
full-featured conferencing using        
off-the-shelf equipment present in most 

every ,government office1 business1 and 
home4  7#h7 ,video conferencing can be  
used by ,federal employees instead of or
 in addition to telephones and email to 
enhance communication and problem       
solving1 to reduce associated carbon    
footprints1 to facilitate staff training
 and interagency meetings1 and to       
increase employee productivity1 thereby 
helping shorten project timelines1      
promote efficiency1 improve             
collaboration among coworkers across the
 country1 and improve work-life balance4
  #c4 ,review1 plan1 and report on using
 video conferencing to reduce ,federal  
agency travel expenses  7a7 ,review ,the
 ,director shall review the extent to   
which ,federal agencies have reduced    
travel expenses by the use of video     
conferencing pursuant to ,executive     
,order #acehi 7#gf ,fed4 ,reg4 #gjhfc2  
relating to promoting efficient         
spending7 and ,,omb ,memorandum         
#ab-ab-ab4  7b7 ,plan ,the ,director    
shall develop a plan for fiscal years   

beginning with fiscal year #bjag to use 
video conferencing to achieve the lesser
 of--  7#a7 a #ej percent reduction in  
,federal agency travel expenses below   
fiscal year #bjac levels2 or  7#b7 the  
greatest reduction in such expenses the 
,director considers feasible4  7c7      
,report ,not later than six months after
 the date of the enactment of this ,act1
 the ,director shall submit to the      
,committee on ,oversight and ,government
 ,reform of the ,house of               
,representatives and the ,committee on  
,homeland ,security and ,governmental   
,affairs of the ,senate a report on the 
review required by subsection 7a7 and   
the plan required by subsection 7b74    
#d4 ,implementation of plan ,of the     
amounts made available to ,federal      
agencies to fund travel expenses for    
fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 
#bjag1 the ,director shall rescind the  
amounts that are proposed for reduction 
by the plan developed under section     
#c7;b74  #e4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3

  7#a7 ,director ,the term ,director    
means the ,director of the ,office of   
,management and ,budget4  7#b7 ,federal 
agency ,the term ,federal agency means  
any agency listed in section #ija7;b7 of
 title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4  7#c7
 ,travel expenses ,the term travel      
expenses means the total amount a       
,federal agency pays or reimburses under
 subchapter ,i or subchapter ,,ii of    
chapter #eg of title #e1 ,united ,states
 ,code4