Despite new House travel restrictions, lawmakers accepted free trips worth nearly $1.9 million during the first eight months of this year ” more than in all of 2006
HOUSE RULE: Ethics committee to pre-approve trips
But there was a spike in travel expenses in August, when lawmakers took 85 trips worth $828,808 ” the highest since August 2003. August is typically a high travel month because Congress is in recess.
The number of trips fell from 588 in the first eight months of 2006 to 337 over that time period this year, but the cost of them doubled. Senators accounted for only $130,000 of the travel
Under new House rules, companies or groups with lobbyists can’t provide more than a one-night stay for a lawmaker ” or two nights for long-distance trips. The rules are much stricter about the kind of trips lawmakers can take and require more reporting to the ethics committee, which now pre-approves the trips, said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Still, groups with interests before Congress often pick up the tab:
•Some of the non-profit groups that sponsored travel have strong ties to lobbyists. The Leaders Project paid $1,993 to send Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., to an event in Florida last month on U.S.-India relations. The group’s founder and chairman is William Cohen, a former Defense secretary whose lobbying firm represents defense contractors. “This has nothing to do with anyone’s lobbying,” said Leaders Project President Doug Wilson.
•Sponsors also included political ideological groups seeking to influence public policy. The Club for Growth, which supports tax cuts and smaller government, spent $32,242 to bring 10 GOP lawmakers to its April convention at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach in Florida that included a four-hour cruise on a 170-foot yacht, reports show.
Brian points out another article in USA Today that makes it clear that many of those taking advantage of travel opportunities are Democrats:
The Michigan Democrat [Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick] stayed overnight at the Gaylord Palms Resort near Orlando. Her trip was one of 30 trips taken by lawmakers this year under an exemption in the new House travel rules that allows for one- or two-night stays sponsored by companies that employ lobbyists. Most of the trips were to resort areas, including eight to Florida and three to Las Vegas.
In all, 22 House Democrats and three Republicans accepted nearly $40,000 in travel under that exemption, according to reports filed with the House ethics committee. Kilpatrick and an aide accepted $2,500 worth of airline tickets, ground transportation, lodging and meals from DaVita, records show.
more reaction at memeorandum
