To provide additional transparency and accountability for spending on conferences and meetings of the Department of Agriculture.

SA 2246. Mr. COBURN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2226 proposed by Mr. Nelson of Florida (for himself, Mr.
Reid, and Mr. Martinez) to the amendment SA 1908 submitted by Mr. Kohl
(for himself and Mr. Brownback) to the bill H.R. 2997, making
appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes; as follows:

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted, insert the
following:
Sec. 7__. (a) In this section, the term ``conference''
means a meeting that--
(1) is held for consultation, education, awareness, or
discussion;
(2) includes participants who are not all employees of the
same agency;
(3) is not held entirely at an agency facility;
(4) involves costs associated with travel and lodging for
some participants; and
(5) is sponsored by 1 or more agencies, 1 or more
organizations that are not agencies, or a combination of such
agencies or organizations.
(b) Not later than September 30, 2011, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress and post on the public Internet website of the
Department of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the
``Department'') in a searchable, electronic format, a report
on each conference for which the Department paid travel
expenses during fiscal year 2010 that includes--
(1) the itemized expenses paid by the Department, including
travel expenses and any Department expenditure to otherwise
support the conference;
(2) the primary sponsor of the conference;
(3) the location of the conference; and
(4) in the case of a conference for which the Department
was the primary sponsor, a statement that includes--
(A) a justification of the location selected;
(B) a description of the cost efficiency of the location;
(C) the date of the conference;
(D) a brief explanation of how the conference advanced the
mission of the Department; and
(E) the total number of individuals whose travel or
attendance at the conference was paid for in part or full by
the Department.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the
aggregate amount made available under this Act for expenses
of the Department relating to conferences in fiscal year
2010, including expenses relating to conference programs,
staff, travel costs, and other conference matters, may not
exceed $12,000,000.
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