Oh the toil, the drudgery. It’s a difficult, demanding, grueling and thankless lot that falls on the shoulders of our poor overworked Senators, Congressmen and their diligent staffers. Travel here, junket there, cramped seats in corporate jets, expensive booze, four star hotels, an endless grinding cycle of golf and spas, dinner and massages, speeches and shopping and hookers, oh weariness, the hookers.
Aspen and Paris, London and Hawaii the responsibilities of their high powered servitude carry our poor beleaguered Reps and Sens and their harried minions to the four corners of the Earth in their tireless efforts on our behalf.
Off to Sidney to sell the wares of a defense contractor who donated to the last election campaign or the Bahamas on behalf of a software giant whose contributions are especially impressive.
A half hour of speaking and an interminable twenty minute meeting with boring cabinet ministers before playing one of the most challenging eighteen holes of ones political career.
The public asks much of the valiant men and women who serve in the halls of power and they deliver. So much graft, so little time.
In a study released this week by the Center for Public Integrity Jim Morris reports:
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2006 — Over a 5½-year period ending in 2005, members of Congress and their aides took at least 23,000 trips — valued at almost $50 million — financed by private sponsors, many of them corporations, trade associations and nonprofit groups with business on Capitol Hill
While some of these trips might qualify as legitimate fact-finding missions, the purpose of others is less clear.
A nine-month analysis of congressional disclosure forms for travel from January 2000 through June 2005 done by the Center for Public Integrity, American Public Media and Northwestern University’s Medill News Service turned up thousands of costly excursions — at least 200 trips to Paris, 150 to Hawaii and 140 to Italy.
Congressional travelers gave speeches in Scotland, attended meetings in Australia and toured nuclear facilities in Spain. They pondered welfare reform in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the future of Social Security at a Colorado ski resort, according to the forms.
Some trips seem to have been little more than pricey vacations — often taken in the company of spouses or other relatives — wrapped around speeches or seminars.
Twenty three thousand trips in five years at a cost of fifty million bucks comes to something like 380 trips per month at an average cost of $2175. These people are incredible, they spend more time packing and unpacking than the comics and strippers of vaudeville. Heroic is the word that springs to mind, and selfless, yes definitely selfless.
Mr. Morris continues:
The analysis found many apparent violations of ethics rules. Disclosure forms show, for example, that at least 90 trips, valued at about $145,000, were sponsored or co-sponsored by firms registered to lobby the federal government. Ethics rules do not allow lobbyists to pay for congressional travel.
The forms show that about 2,300 trips cost $5,000 or more. At least 500 cost $10,000 or more, 16 cost $25,000 or more, and the cost of one exceeded $30,000. There were $500-a-night hotel rooms, $25,000 corporate jet rides and other extravagant perks. Almost three-quarters of all trips were taken by aides, who often influence how their bosses vote, negotiate in committee and interact with other government officials. All told, the travelers were away from Washington for a minimum of 81,000 days — a combined 222 years.
According to the forms, every bit of this travel was necessary.
Shame on those who call this a “Do Nothing Congress,” shame.
While the performance of Congress as a group is unarguably impressive there are individual heroics that stand out, take Tom DeLay.
In terms of private travel dollars spent, the office of Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who resigned as House majority leader in January after being indicted on charges of violating campaign finance laws, appears to have eclipsed all others. Records reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity show that DeLay and his staffers accepted about a half-million dollars in trips during the 5½-year study period, although the office of Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, was only about $8,000 behind.
These men stand out like shining beacons of public service and selfless effort who have placed the bar so high that all lesser mortals must stand in awe, they truly have set an example for the next generation of public servants that will be difficult to match.
Their effort over this long five years of dangerous climbs to the highest peaks in Aspen and tortuous treks through the perils and pitfalls of the Champs Elysees have been admirably non partisan with Democrats and Republicans each shouldering their share of the enormous travel burden placed upon them by an ever demanding public.
There have been some misguided “reformers” who have called for an end to what they have termed “excessive and unethical travel on behalf of private interests” but well meaning though they may be their efforts have failed. Even Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert called for a ban on privately sponsored travel, as he said back in January:
“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.”
In it’s report the Center for Public Integrity stated that
“Hastert’s staff took the most trips and had the highest tab of any congressional office,” taking over 200 trips worth more than $350,000 over a five-year period. The groups looked at U.S. senators and their staffs as well, but indicated that House members were far more inclined to use the privately-funded travel.
John Boehner of Ohio, travels frequently and during the five year period of the study was on the road for over five months carrying his share of the workload to the tune of $160,000 worth of privately sponsored trips. He was brought in as majority leader as a reformer but he recognizes the critical need for congressional junkets and for our congresspeople to educate themselves thoroughly about such places as Belaggios in Las Vegas.
This report was a real eye opener for me and until I read it I was terribly unaware of the sacrifices being made on our behalf by these intrepid Senators and Congress Persons. The services they render, whether performed in the steaming jungles of the Cayman Islands or on the primitive paths of Rome or London are something that every American can take pride in.
Now that the realities have been made clear to me I urge everyone to take pen or keyboard in hand and contact your Senator or Congressman and offer your profound and heartfelt thanks for the their undying devotion to the people’s business.
We need to let them know how we feel.
Bob Higgins
Worldwide Sawdust