And you sir should look up the phrase mea culpa; as should Ms McGuire 

I'm sure if you're up to par with your Latin you'll fully understand the meaning.  

She likely claims her per diem regardless of the work she does (or whether she does any) which is probably why she has an aide sign her forms. It just slipped her mind that she was going to be out of country. 

The fact that the per diem is there and in some cases where the dems said they required less than why  not accept one day of per diem rather than multiple days? 

They say we're broke and can't cover our expenses and we need to cut services but we're paying out the back end in per diem?  Yeah, ok, sure... (Eye roll) 
As someone who works the accounting sector this system failed in its checks and balances.