BRIAN ROSS REPORTS
- Like Jay-Z + the Beatles, But Worse
- Update: Help for Homeless Children
- Bush Era, Revised -- and with More Barbeque
- The Tax Woman Cometh
- Paging Mr. Stanford: Antigua Called
- Who Are You Calling Partisan?
- Update: IRS Won't Use Private Debt Collectors
- But Is It Art?
- PMA Scandal a Sore Point for Dems in 2010?
- Down in Flames
- A New Mystery for RNC Chief
- PMA Clients Were Big Givers
- Raided Lobby Firm Still a Force on Capitol Hill
- Stanford Update: Another $143 Mil Found
- Cheney, Hooked on Controversy
TOP BLOTTER CATEGORIES
- Abramoff Lobbying Scandal
- American Al Qaeda
- Avian Flu
- Beirut Hospital Out of Gas
- Cheney
- CIA
- CIA Secret Prisons
- D.C. Madam Affair
- FBI
- Federal Air Marshal Service
- Homeland Security
- Hurricane Katrina
- IRS
- Mark Foley Internet Scandal
- Millionaire Sex Scandal
- Nigerian E-mail Scams
- Norman Hsu, Clinton Fundraiser
- NSA: Wiretapping
- Osama bin Laden
- Payola
- Pharmacy Investigation
- PMA
- Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
- Stanford
- Steele
- Terror
- Troopergate
- U.K. Airline Terror Plot
- U.K. Bombing Attempts
- Wen Ho Lee
- William Jefferson
- Zarqawi
« Previous | Main | Next »
Plus One: House Members Break Travel Rules by Bringing Unauthorized Companions
Email
Print
ShareJune 26, 2006 1:02 PM
Members of the House of Representatives have broken congressional travel rules almost 200 times by bringing unauthorized companions on trips that were sponsored by private groups, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity.
Current rules state that House members may bring one relative with them on privately funded trips. That rule was amended last year. The previous rule stated that the one family member had to be a spouse or child, but the Center found numerous examples before the amendment of siblings, parents, and even grandchildren accompanying House members or their staff.
For example, in 2001, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) accepted over $1,200 in transportation and lodging expenses for her sister to attend a conference in Grenada. Following inquiries about this trip, Rep. Johnson reimbursed the travel sponsor for her sister's expenses and has since filed an amended disclosure form.
The Center reviewed travel disclosure forms from January 2000 through June 2005. Their investigation found two types of violations. One, House members or their staff would accept all expense-paid trips for unauthorized family members. Two, House members and their staff would accept travel expenses for more than one guest.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) violated the rule limiting the number of travel companions when he and his wife brought their triplets on a fact-finding mission to France. The family traveled to Paris, Toulouse and Biarritz courtesy of Airbus. Rohrabacher has also since amended his disclosure forms and reimbursed Airbus for the costs of his children's tickets ($760 each).
The House Ethics Committee also grants waivers for members or staff aides that request them, but decisions on who receives those waivers is not made public. The Center for Public Integrity quotes an unnamed House staffer familiar with the committee, who said that often waivers were granted after the fact, if a congress member or staff member made a good enough argument about why they broke the rules.
June 26, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (9)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Names of members of Congress is what is needed in articles like this. General allegations have little impact on voters who relate to their members of Congress.
Posted by: Chris Baker | Jun 26, 2006 1:59:52 PM
Hmm...they do this, plus vote themselves a raise but can't raise the minimum wage? Funny how money can make someone forget the purpose of their work.
Posted by: Grant Thompson | Jun 26, 2006 2:01:01 PM
We could read a different story of government corruption -- this bad or worse -- every day for an entire year and still barely scratch the surface.
Yet the majority of the voting public will march ignorantly to the polls and vote for more corrupt politicians.
Posted by: Will | Jun 26, 2006 3:38:38 PM
Yes, names please. Also the fact that you use the names of one Dem and one Republican would seem to indicate that an equal number of each were involved. I strongly doubt that, especially in light of the Republican Abramoff scandal.
Please give us all names, their party affiliation and what they did as a public service.
Posted by: Claudia Long | Jun 26, 2006 3:50:53 PM
you are breaching national security by giving the terrorists ideas like these! GWB
Posted by: anon | Jun 26, 2006 6:30:10 PM
So, if the lawmakers do not have to live by their rules/laws why not vote every incumbent out until they will go by the rules. I am not that concerned about party politics, just that the ones making the laws abide by the laws/rules.
Posted by: Steve | Jun 26, 2006 7:49:57 PM
How many more instances of this kind of abuse do we have to read about before Americans DEMAND major reform?
It sickens me that my tax dollars fund such actions.
I just want to know why such violations of the law only result in repayment and not prosecution? This administration's policies sicken me beyond comprehension! I can't understand why the American public doesn't do something about these atrocities against the tax payers?
Posted by: Brian D. Meer | Jun 26, 2006 10:48:57 PM
Why am I not surprised?! Another reason to dump ALL now in office and start with another bunch. I guess pigs will fly and hell freeze before this lot sees any shame in their corruption. Is there just one person out there who can lead us out of this insanity?? Keep identifying these cheats.
Posted by: Barb | Jun 26, 2006 10:52:49 PM
The one thing I can think of is that we are working at minimum wage and they take expensive trips. I want them to work with limited income and see what they can do with it...they wouldnt survive on bologna and bread for a week.
Give us names!
Posted by: Rebecca Surrett | Jun 26, 2006 11:25:26 PM
Post a comment
