Congressional Boondoggles Said to Total $50 Million

[dogday]

(CNSNews.com) - Despite calling for a ban on privately funded congressional travel, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and members of his staff have accepted more travel from special interests than any other congressional office, according to the Center for Public Integrity and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

The two organizations released their report Monday at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In January, Hastert declared that "we must ban privately sponsored travel in the House of Representatives."

"I know fact-finding trips are important," the speaker said. "This body considers legislation that affects people that cannot always travel to Washington to petition their government. Private travel has been abused by some, and I believe we need to put an end to it."


http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200606/POL20060606b.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. And in related news

98 trips by McDermott led way for the state

By CHARLES POPE
P-I WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers from Washington state -- especially Rep. Jim McDermott -- as well as their spouses and staff spend a lot of time in airplanes, and not just because their districts are a continent away from Capitol Hill.

A study released Monday by the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity found that Washington state lawmakers, their spouses and staff accepted 443 privately funded trips over the last 5 1/2 years to places as exotic as Casablanca, India, Paris and China and as mundane as Yakima, Kalispell, Mont., and the North Slope of Alaska.

The cost of those trips, according to the study, was $990,263.

The biggest traveler -- by far -- from Washington state was McDermott and his highflying staff, which accepted 98 trips over the period ending in 2005. The Seattle Democrat alone accounted for 41 trips, visiting such places as Baden Baden, Germany; Puerto Rico; Nigeria; India; Stockholm; Tokyo; China and Haiti.

On seven of the trips McDermott was accompanied by his wife, according to disclosure reports assembled by the Center for Public Integrity. On four other trips he took his son.

Article continues at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/272886_mcdermott06.html

Waiting for replies asserting that wasting taxpayer money is just dandy, as long as one isn't as wasteful as the Republicans. :hi: