U.S. Attorney General's Travel Costs for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour and Related Activities
Gao ID: GAO-05-95R October 12, 2004In August and September of 2003, the Attorney General of the United States visited a number of cities around the country on what has been termed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the "USA PATRIOT Act Tour." According to DOJ, the intent of the tour was to (1) educate the public and inform members of Congress about the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and (2) receive input and feedback from state and local law enforcement with respect to information sharing among law enforcement agencies and threats to homeland security. We are providing information on the locations and costs of the U.S. Attorney General's travels known as the USA PATRIOT Act Tour, as well as the locations and costs of a series of trips in September 2003 referred to by DOJ as "Life and Liberty" travel. These latter trips involved a series of speeches regarding crime statistics and other topics, including the importance of the USA PATRIOT Act. We are also providing information on the official positions and office assignments of the DOJ staff that accompanied the U.S. Attorney General on each of these travel visits. Additionally, we are reporting on the purpose and the costs associated with setting up and maintaining the new DOJ Life and Liberty Web site, www.lifeandliberty.gov, and the purposes of meetings or contacts held by U.S. Attorneys with members of Congress and the public on the USA PATRIOT Act in August and September 2003.
In summary, GAO found the U.S. Attorney General and his staff visited 14 states and 16 cities as part of the USA PATRIOT Act Tour and 13 states and 16 cities as part of the Life and Liberty travel. According to available DOJ data, total expenses related to the U.S. Attorney General's USA PATRIOT Act Tour, Life and Liberty travel, and the Life and Liberty Web site are $210,976.10. Expenses are reported to include $155,207.51 in travel and related expenses for the U.S. Attorney General and his staff for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour itself, $47,138.15 in travel and related expenses for the U.S. Attorney General and his staff for Life and Liberty travel, and $8,630.44 to develop and maintain the Life and Liberty Web site. Eighty of 93 U.S. Attorneys reported conducting activities that included meetings with members of Congress and the public concerning the USA PATRIOT Act in August and September 2003. According to a DOJ official, the cost of these meetings was not specifically tracked and could not be reasonably reconstructed. DOJ stated that the funds expended were part of the United States Attorney's budget used to conduct any USA business, including press conferences, speeches, etc.
GAO-05-95R, U.S. Attorney General's Travel Costs for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour and Related Activities
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Washington, DC 20548:
October 12, 2004:
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy:
Ranking Minority Member:
Committee on the Judiciary:
United States Senate:
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.:
Ranking Minority Member:
Committee on the Judiciary:
House of Representatives:
Subject: U.S. Attorney General's Travel Costs for the USA PATRIOT Act
Tour and Related Activities:
In August and September of 2003, the Attorney General of the United
States visited a number of cities around the country on what has been
termed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the "USA PATRIOT Act
Tour." According to DOJ, the intent of the tour was to (1) educate the
public and inform members of Congress about the provisions of the USA
PATRIOT Act and (2) receive input and feedback from state and local law
enforcement with respect to information sharing among law enforcement
agencies and threats to homeland security. In response to your request,
we are providing information on the locations and costs of the U.S.
Attorney General's travels known as the USA PATRIOT Act Tour, as well
as the locations and costs of a series of trips in September 2003
referred to by DOJ as "Life and Liberty" travel. These latter trips
involved a series of speeches regarding crime statistics and other
topics, including the importance of the USA PATRIOT Act. We are also
providing information on the official positions and office assignments
of the DOJ staff that accompanied the U.S. Attorney General on each of
these travel visits. Additionally, we are reporting on the purpose and
the costs associated with setting up and maintaining the new DOJ Life
and Liberty Web site, www.lifeandliberty.gov, and the purposes of
meetings or contacts held by U.S. Attorneys with members of Congress
and the public on the USA PATRIOT Act in August and September 2003.
To obtain this information, we reviewed itineraries, vouchers, and
travel documents for the U.S. Attorney General and DOJ staff members
who traveled with him, or in advance of his trips, for all PATRIOT Act
and Life and Liberty travel. We also collected data on government
aircraft flight hours as well as the expenses incurred by United States
Attorneys' Offices in connection with the USA PATRIOT Act tour visits.
Finally, we obtained data on the purposes of the U.S. Attorneys'
meetings with members of Congress and the public during the August and
September 2003 time period. We relied on information and data provided
by the Department of Justice and did not independently verify the
information it provided.
On September 8, 2004, we briefed you on the results of our work. This
report conveys the information provided during that briefing (see app.
I), as well as information that we received from DOJ on additional
travel voucher expenses (see app. I) and official positions and office
assignments of DOJ staff that accompanied the U.S. Attorney General on
USA PATRIOT Act Tour and Life and Liberty travel visits (see app. II).
In summary, we found:
* The U.S. Attorney General and his staff visited 14 states and 16
cities as part of the USA PATRIOT Act Tour and 13 states and 16 cities
as part of the Life and Liberty travel.
* According to available DOJ data, total expenses related to the U.S.
Attorney General's USA PATRIOT Act Tour, Life and Liberty travel, and
the Life and Liberty Web site are $210,976.10. Expenses are reported to
include $155,207.51 in travel and related expenses for the U.S.
Attorney General and his staff for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour itself,
$47,138.15 in travel and related expenses for the U.S. Attorney General
and his staff for Life and Liberty travel, and $8,630.44 to develop and
maintain the Life and Liberty Web site.
* Eighty of 93 U.S. Attorneys reported conducting activities that
included meetings with members of Congress and the public concerning
the USA PATRIOT Act in August and September 2003. According to a DOJ
official, the cost of these meetings was not specifically tracked and
could not be reasonably reconstructed. DOJ stated that the funds
expended were part of the United States Attorney's (USA's) budget used
to conduct any USA business, including press conferences, speeches,
etc.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We requested comments on this report from the U.S. Attorney General. In
written comments dated October 6, 2004, and included in appendix III,
the Department of Justice stated that the draft report addressed only
one of the two purposes of the tour--sharing information--and should
have discussed the other major purpose of the tour--information
gathering. We included additional language in the report to reflect the
information provided by DOJ.
Also, DOJ clarified that the cost of U.S. Attorneys' meetings with
members of Congress and the public concerning the USA PATRIOT Act in
August and September 2003 was not specifically tracked and could not be
reasonably reconstructed. We included additional language in the report
to reflect DOJ's clarification of the tracking of this cost.
Regarding the draft report's references to expenses incurred by U.S.
Attorneys Offices in connection with the Attorney General's USA PATRIOT
Act visits, DOJ stated that these figures include money requested from
the Executive Office for United States Attorneys to cover expenses
incurred with the USA PATRIOT Act visits. DOJ stated that it did not
collect information regarding similar expenses incurred for the Life
and Liberty travel. We included additional language in the report to
describe what these expenses include.
We are sending copies of this report to other interested congressional
committees and the U.S. Attorney General. We will also make copies
available to others upon request. In addition, the report will be
available at no charge on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-8777 or by e-mail at EkstrandL@gao.gov or John
C. Hansen, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-7105, or HansenJ@gao.gov.
Key contributors to this report were Vickie Miller, David Alexander,
Steven Haughton, Amy Bernstein, and Frances Cook.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
Laurie E. Ekstrand, Director:
Homeland Security and Justice Issues:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Briefing Slides:
[See PDF for images]
[End of slide presentation]
[End of section]
Appendix II: Department of Justice Staff Accompanying U.S. Attorney
General on USA PATRIOT Act and Life and Liberty Travel:
Tables 1 and 2 below show the official positions and office assignments
of the Department of Justice (DOJ) staff that accompanied the U.S.
Attorney General on each of his USA PATRIOT Act Tour and Life and
Liberty Tour visits, conducted between August 20, 2003, and September
25, 2003. In addition to these staff, the U.S. Attorney General was
accompanied by a security detail for this travel.
Table 1: Department of Justice staff accompanying U.S. Attorney General
on USA PATRIOT Act Tour:
Date: 08/20/03;
Destinations:
* Washington, DC, to Philadelphia, PA;
* Philadelphia, PA, to Cleveland, OH;
* Cleveland, OH, to Detroit, MI;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance).
Date: 08/21/03;
Destinations:
* Detroit, MI, to Des Moines, IA;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance);
* Special Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (Speech Writer).
Date: 08/21/03;
Destinations:
* Des Moines, IA, to Washington, D.C.;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance);
* Special Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (Speech Writer);
* Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs.
Date: 08/25/03;
Destinations:
* Washington, DC, to Salt Lake City, UT;
* Salt Lake City, UT, to Boise, ID;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Research Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (AG Advance);
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs;
* Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Deputy
Attorney General.
Date: 08/26/2003;
Destinations:
* Boise, ID, to Las Vegas, NV;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Research Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (AG Advance);
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs;
* Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney
General;
* Special Assistant, Office of Legal Policy (Speech Writer).
Date: 08/26/03;
Destinations:
* Las Vegas, NV, to Washington, D.C.;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Research Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (AG Advance);
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs;
* Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney
General;
* Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs.
Date: 09/05/03;
Destinations:
* Washington, DC, to Tampa, FL;
* Tampa, FL, to Atlanta, GA;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance);
* Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs.
Date: 09/05/03;
Destinations:
* Atlanta, GA, to Norfolk, VA;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance);
* Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs;
* Research Assistant, Office of Public Affairs (Public Affairs
Advance).
Date: 09/06/03;
Destinations:
* Norfolk, VA, to Raleigh/Durham, NC;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance);
* Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs.
Date: 09/06/03;
Destinations:
* Raleigh/Durham, NC, to Washington, DC;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance);
* Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs;
* Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs (Public
Affairs Advance).
Date: 09/08/03;
Destinations:
* Washington, DC, to Buffalo, NY;
* Buffalo, NY, to New Castle, NH;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Director of Scheduling and Advance, Office of the Attorney General.
Date: 09/08/03;
Destinations:
* New Castle, NH, to Boston, MA;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Director of Scheduling and Advance, Office of the Attorney General
(AG Advance);
* Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs (Public
Affairs Advance).
Date: 09/09/03;
Destinations:
* Boston, MA, to New York, NY;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs (Public
Affairs Advance);
* Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General
(AG Advance);
Note: The Director, Office of Public Affairs, and the Chief of Staff,
Office of the Attorney General, met the U.S. Attorney General upon his
arrival in New York, NY. The Counsel to the Attorney General, Office
of the Attorney General, met the U.S. Attorney General at Federal Hall
in New York, NY, and accompanied him throughout the rest of the day.
Date: 09/09/03;
Destinations:
* New York, NY, to Washington, D.C.;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General;
* Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney (AG
Advance);
* Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Director, Office of Public Affairs.
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Justice data.
[End of table]
Table 2: Department of Justice staff accompanying U.S. Attorney General
on Life and Liberty Travel:
Date: 09/18/03;
Destinations:
* Washington, DC, to Louisville, KY;
* Louisville, KY, to Memphis, TN;
* Memphis, TN, to Little Rock, AR;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs;
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy;
* Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General
(AG Advance).
Date: 09/18/03;
09/19/03;
09/19/03;
Destination:
* Little Rock, AR, to Minneapolis, MN;
Date: 09/19/03;
Destination:
* Minneapolis, MN, to Omaha, NE;
Date: 09/19/03;
Destination:
* Omaha, NE, to Kansas City, MO;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs;
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance).
Date: 09/19/03;
Destinations:
* Kansas City, MO, to Washington, DC;
* Attorney General did not return to Washington, DC, with staff;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Chief of Staff, Office of the Attorney General;
* Advisor to the Attorney General and Dep. White House Liaison;
* Senior Advisor, Office of Public Affairs;
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy;
* Senior Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Public Affairs;
Note: The Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public
Liaison, stayed in Kansas City, MO.
Date: 09/22/03;
Destinations:
* Springfield, MO, to Milwaukee, WI;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs;
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of Attorney General;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison;
Note: The Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs, met the U.S.
Attorney General upon his arrival in Milwaukee, WI.
Date: 09/22/03;
Destinations:
* Milwaukee, WI, to Cincinnati, OH;
* Cincinnati, OH, to Pittsburgh, PA;
* Pittsburgh, PA, to Washington, DC;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Associate Director, Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison
(AG Advance);
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs.
Date: 09/24/03;
Destinations:
* Washington, DC, to Columbia, SC;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Director, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys;
Note: The Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney
General, met the U.S. Attorney General upon his arrival in Columbia,
SC.
Date: 09/24/03;
Destinations:
* Columbia, SC, to Jacksonville, FL;
* Jacksonville, FL, to Tallahassee, FL;
* Tallahassee, FL, to New Orleans, LA;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Director, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys;
* Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General
(AG Advance);
Note: The Director of Scheduling and Advance, Office of the Attorney
General, met the U.S. Attorney General upon his arrival in New Orleans,
LA. The Assistant to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney
General, departed from New Orleans, LA, to Washington, D.C.
Date: 09/25/03;
Destinations:
* New Orleans, LA, to Nashville, TN;
* Nashville, TN, to Charlotte, NC;
* Charlotte, NC, to Washington, DC;
DOJ staff accompanying the U.S. Attorney General:
* Counselor to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General;
* Assistant Director, Office of Public Affairs;
* Director, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys;
* Director of Scheduling and Advance, Office of the Attorney General
(AG Advance).
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Justice data.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Justice:
U.S. Department of Justice:
Washington, D.C. 20530:
October 6, 2004:
Laurie E. Ekstrand:
Director, Homeland Security and Justice:
General Accountability Office:
441 G Street, NW:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Ms. Ekstrand:
On September 17, 2004, the General Accountability Office (GAO) provided
the Department of Justice (DOJ) a copy of its draft report entitled
U.S. Attorney General's Travel Costs for the USA PATRIOT Act Tour and
Related Activities (GAO-04-1091R/440287) with a request for comments.
We appreciate the opportunity to review the draft report.
We believe the report inaccurately describes the purpose of what has
been described as the USA PATRIOT Act tour. The report addresses only
one of the two purposes of the tour-sharing information; the report
should discuss the other major purpose of the tour-information
gathering. With respect to the former, the letter from Laurie E.
Ekstrand to Senator Leahy and Representative Conyers asserts that
"[a]ccording to DOJ, the intent of the [USA PATRIOT Act] tour was to
educate the public and inform members of Congress about the provisions
of the USA PATRIOT Act." Likewise, in Appendix I of the report, it is
stated that "the U.S. Attorney General conducted a tour intended,
according to the Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, to
educate the public and inform Members of Congress about the provisions
of the USA PATRIOT Act." These descriptions of purpose are incomplete
and, therefore, misleading.
Throughout the trips described in this report, the Attorney General not
only spoke; he listened. The second purpose of this tour was for the
Attorney General to receive input and valuable on-the-ground feedback
from state and local law enforcement, both with respect to information
sharing among law enforcement agencies as well as with respect to
threats to homeland security. This dialogue between the Attorney
General and state and local law enforcement occurred at nearly every
stop during the Attorney General's travels. The Attorney General's
staff took notes to record the input offered by state and local law
enforcement and then followed up on these suggestions and concerns
afterwards. The GAO's report fails to mention even once this important
objective of the Attorney General's travels. The report should describe
both purposes of the USA PATRIOT Act tour.
On page 2, final bullet before "Agency Comments," change last sentence
in paragraph to: "According to a DOJ official, the cost of these
meetings was not specifically tracked and could not be reasonably
reconstructed. The funds expended were part of each United States
Attorney's (USA's) budget used to conduct any USA business, including
press conferences, speeches, etc." We did not ask the USAs to go back
through every travel voucher and estimate how much they may have spent
at any one event on PATRIOT Act matters. When more than one subject of
interest to a USA's Office was addressed at an event, it would require
making highly subjective estimates to determine what portion of the
monies were expended exclusively for PATRIOT Act matters. Under the
circumstances, it would be more accurate to say that the exact figures
could not be reasonably reconstructed.
On page 14, the third box lists expenses incurred by USA Offices in
connection with the Attorney General's USA PATRIOT Act visits. These
figures include money requested from the Executive Office for United
States Attorneys to cover expenses incurred with the USA PATRIOT Act
visits. We did not collect information regarding similar expenses
incurred for the Life & Liberty travel.
On page 19, add to fist bullet the following: "The United States
Attorneys may have used funds in their own Office budgets to fund these
events as is generally done to pay expenses for press events, speaking
engagements, and travel associated with events they attend in their
official capacity." USAOs may have tracked them by making certain
notations on their travel vouchers; however, we did not ask them to
attempt to pull every travel voucher and reconstruct expenses in
conjunction with these events. Delete the second bullet.
We hope these comments will be beneficial in preparing your final
report. If you have any questions concerning the Department's comments
in this matter, please feel free to contact Richard P. Theis, Acting
Director, Audit Liaison Office, Justice Management Division on (202)
514-0469.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Paul R. Corts:
Assistant Attorney General for Administration:
[End of section]
