Presidential Travel

This report discusses the costs of President Clinton's 1998 trips to Africa, Chile, and China and executive branch accounting procedures for such expenses. GAO did not look at the travel costs of past presidents because the records were not readily available. Presidential travel abroad requires planning, coordination, and logistical and personnel support. The estimated costs of the President's trips to Africa, Chile, and China were at least $42.8 million, $10.5 million, and $18.8 million, respectively. The largest costs consisted of (1) operating the President's plane and aircraft; (2) travel expenses, including lodging; and (3) telecommunications, vehicle, and other equipment rentals and purchases in the countries visited. The executive branch lacks a single system to account for the cost of presidential travel overseas, and the agencies involved used various methods to account for expenses. The State Department routinely accounts for travel, equipment rental, and other costs to support presidential travel. Other agencies that incurred costs in support of the Africa, Chile, and China trips also had records on their costs.

GAO noted that: (1) presidential travel to foreign destinations requires planning, coordination, and logistical and personnel support; (2) the estimated incremental costs of President Clinton's trips to Africa, Chile, and China were at least $42.8 million, $10.5 million, and $18.8 million, respectively; (3) the largest of these costs consisted of: (a) operating expenses of the President's aircraft and other military passenger and cargo aircraft; (b) travel expenses, including lodging for the travellers; and (c) telecommunications, vehicle, and other equipment rentals and procurement in the countries visited; (4) these estimates exclude: (a) Secret Service expenses, which are classified; (b) regular salaries and benefits of U.S. government civil and military travellers; and (c) agency planning expenses that may have been incurred in preparing to travel; (5) the executive branch does not have a single system to account for the cost of presidential travel overseas, and the agencies involved use a variety of means to account for expenses; (6) the Department of State routinely accounts for travel, equipment rental, and other costs to support presidential travel; and (7) other agencies that incurred costs in support of the Africa, Chile, and China trips had records available on their costs as well.