5 USC § 5731 - Expenses limited to lowest first-class rate

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t5/s5731"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "5 USC § 5731 - Expenses limited to lowest first-class rate"
title_number: 5
title_name: "GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES"
section_number: "5731"
section_name: "Expenses limited to lowest first-class rate"
chapter_number: 57
chapter_name: "TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION, AND SUBSISTENCE"
subchapter_number: "II"
subchapter_name: "TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES; NEW APPOINTEES, STUDENT TRAINEES, AND TRANSFERRED EMPLOYEES"
part_number: "III"
part_name: "EMPLOYEES"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 506; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XVII, § 1723(b)(4), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2759; Pub. L. 105–264, § 6(10), Oct. 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 2356.)"
---


# § 5731. Expenses limited to lowest first-class rate

**(a)** The allowance for actual expenses for transportation may not exceed the lowest first-class rate by the transportation facility used unless it is certified, in accordance with regulations prescribed under section 5738 of this title, that—

**(1)** lowest first-class accommodations are not available; or

**(2)** use of a compartment or other accommodation authorized or approved by the head of the agency concerned or his designee is required for security purposes.

**(b)** Instead of the maximum fixed by subsection (a) of this section, the allowance to an employee of the Government for actual expenses for transportation on an inter-island steamship in Hawaii may not exceed the rate for accommodations on the steamship that is equivalent as nearly as possible to the rate for the lowest first-class accommodations on trans-pacific steamships.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 506; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XVII, § 1723(b)(4), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2759; Pub. L. 105–264, § 6(10), Oct. 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 2356.)

| Derivation | U.S. Code | Revised Statutes andStatutes at Large |
| --- | --- | --- |
| (a) | 5 U.S.C. 73b. | Mar. 3, 1933, ch. 212, § 10, 47 Stat. 1516. |
|  |  | Aug. 2, 1946, ch. 744, § 6, 60 Stat. 808. |
| (b) | 5 U.S.C. 73e. | May 28, 1938, ch. 289, § 811, 52 Stat. 577. |

In subsection (a), the words “by or under authority of law” are omitted as surplusage.

In subsection (b), the words “by or under authority of law” are omitted as surplusage. The words “after the date of the enactment of this Act” are omitted as obsolete.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

1998—Subsec. (b).  substituted “Government” for “United States”.

1996—Subsec. (a).  substituted “in accordance with regulations prescribed under ” for “in accordance with regulations prescribed by the President”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

Amendment by  effective 180 days after , see , set out as a note under .