the three public expenses 三公经费

Departments under the central government and organizations that receive public funds are planning to spend 7.97 billion yuan this year to buy and use cars, travel overseas and host meetings - collectively known as "the three public expenses" - the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

财政部周四公布消息，中央各政府部门2013年的公车购买使用、因公出国及公务接待等“三公经费”拨款预算为79.7亿元。

“三公经费”（the three public expenses）指政府部门在购买使用公车（buy and use government cars）、因公出国（overseas trips）以及公务接待（official receptions）方面的公共开支（public spending）。从已经公开的数据来看，今年政府部门在公务接待方面的预算有明显压缩。

其实在2012年签署的《机关事务管理条例》就对三公消费有详细规定。在公车使用方面，条例规定不得超编制配备公务用车（retain more official vehicles than the allowed quota）、不得超标准配备公务用车（spending more than allowed on official cars）、不得为公务用车增加高档配置（high-grade configuration）或者豪华内饰（interior decoration）等。另外，超支（overspending）或是挪用其他预算资金（misappropriating funds from other budget items）用于三公消费的官员可能面临降级（demotion）或撤职（removal from post）处分。