OCE Referral Regarding Rep. Alcee Hastings
On July 30, 2010, the OCE transmitted a referral to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the United States House of Representatives regarding Representative Alcee L. Hastings.
Nature of Review
In 2008, Representative Alcee L. Hastings participated in a Congressional Delegation to Astana, Kazakhstan. During the trip, he received a travel per diem for meals and incidental expenses with an approximate value of $1,108.00. Public statements attributed to Representative Hastings indicated that he may have used the per diem for impermissible purposes. In addition, these public statements indicate that he may have used the per diem for impermissible purposes during other trips.
If Representative Hastings’ actual meal and incidental expenses during foreign travel were less than the per diem received and he did not return the excess per diem, he may have violated House Rule 10, clause 8 and House Rule 23, clauses 1 and 2.
OCE Recommendation
The Board of the OCE recommended that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct further review the above allegations.
Committee Conclusion
On December 31, 2010, the Committee determined not to take further action regarding this matter and adopted the Committee staff recommendation to dismiss the matter and consider it closed.