OMB Circular A-126
Specifically, OMB Circular A-126 addresses the acquisition, management, usage, cost accounting, and disposal of government aircraft.
[2] For political travel, other laws and regulations may apply that require reimbursement in an amount greater than the "full coach fare".
[2] Simply put, a 'Senior Official' is anyone who meets the criteria as being employed and paid at a rate equal to or greater than the basic pay equivalent to a member of the Senior Executive Service (5 U.S.C. § 5382).
Because of concerns for safety of elected government officials, the Speaker of the House—next in line behind the Vice President in the order of succession—has been granted use of military planes for secure travel services.
[11] In February 2007, a controversy arose regarding the capability of aircraft for travel requested by newly elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
[11] After a number of news articles detailing the cost of flights on charter and government-owned aircraft, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the Trump administration, questioning recent travel by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
[13] The acting chief of the Office of Government Ethics, David J. Apol, issued a letter to agency heads asking them to ensure their actions are "motivated by the public good and not by personal interests.
The House Oversight Committee started a bipartisan investigation led by Representatives Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD) of all use of private and government-owned planes by non-elected government officials of the Executive Branch on September 26, citing 5 U.S.C.
[21] On September 29, Price resigned following what reporters called "an optics nightmare" for "the appearance of a millionaire Cabinet secretary flying routes easily navigated by far cheaper means.
[26] The OIG released its report on October 4, 2017, concluding that there was "no violation of law in these requests and uses" of government aircraft by Mnuchin, but also expressing concern regarding "a disconnect between the standard of proof called for in the Daley memo and the actual amount of proof provided by Treasury and accepted by the White House in justifying these trip requests".
The Daley Memo also states that travel using military aircraft must be considered a White House Support Mission, taken at the specific direction of the President under one of a set of limited circumstances that "make commercial transportation unacceptable".
