posted on April 27, 2005 08:08:23 AM new
So much for complaining of Delay's ethics
Findings show Democrats move around more than Republicans
By MICHAEL HEDGES and DON JORDAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay traveled on official business less than dozens of members of Congress, who took 5,400 official trips at a cost of $16 million in the last five years, according to a study released Tuesday.
Democrats traveled more frequently than Republicans.
Most of the trips were hosted by nonprofit organizations that accepted money from lobbyists and others who could not pay directly for congressional travel — a funding setup at the center of the controversy over some of DeLay's trips, according to a report by the PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan watchdog group that focuses on campaign finance issues.
The most traveled Texan was Rep. Gene Green, a Houston Democrat. He took trips costing $165,000.
"Every (trip) I can relate to my committee work or to the district that I represent," said Green, who serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "If I'm going to do something, I need to justify it, not only to myself but to my district."
Green's trips included visits to Switzerland, sponsored by the Aspen Institute for attendance at a global environment conference, and Germany, sponsored by the Congressional Study Group on Germany/U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress to discuss America's relationship with Germany with European Union, NATO and German officials.
Green would not comment on DeLay's trips because he serves on the House ethics committee that may investigate allegations that DeLay's trips violated ethics rules.
Nonprofits may fund trips
But Green did say, "If I get to play golf somewhere, I pay for it myself."
DeLay played several expensive rounds of golf at St. Andrews in Scotland during a 2000 trip in which lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a friend of DeLay, played a now-controversial role.
The top 10 travelers, by the number of trips in the last five years, were all Democrats.
DeLay was tied for 114th place on the list, with 15 trips.
Democrats took 3,025 trips, while Republicans went on 2,375 trips, with two independent lawmakers accounting for another 10.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., took the most expensive trips, costing $167,000.
DeLay was 28th on the list by cost with $94,568 in sponsored trips in the last five years.
Israel and Mexico were the most popular destinations, with 131 congressional trips each.
DeLay said his 2000 Britain trip was paid for by a nonprofit organization, which is approved by House rules.
But news accounts have suggested Abramoff directed gaming clients to pay for DeLay's travel.
Abramoff is under federal investigation over allegations that he cheated clients — a group of Indian tribes — out of millions of dollars in lobbying fees.
The study found that 55 percent of all trips were sponsored by nonprofits that received funding from others that could seek to influence Congress.
"There is no legal prohibition to prevent a lobbyist from serving on the board of these organizations, and in some cases lobbyists may encourage a client to contribute to the nonprofit," the PoliticalMoneyLine study found. "In some cases, serving on a nonprofit's board permits the lobbyist to participate in the sponsored event or travel for Members of Congress."
That was true of the controversial DeLay trip, in which Abramoff served on the board of the nonprofit National Center for Public Policy Research.
DeLay listed the center as the trip sponsor. The expenses were paid on a credit card issued to Abramoff, according to the Washington Post.
If a House ethics panel found that Abramoff paid for the trip, that would violate ethics rules.
The controversy surrounding DeLay threatens to spread wider in Congress.
Finding mistakes
Several members, including Democrat Nancy Pelosi, minority leader from California, have been forced to revise their official travel disclosure forms and inform the ethics committee of mistakes.
A Pelosi aide had not reported a $9,000 trip to South Korea with the same group that sponsored another DeLay trip that has drawn media scrutiny.
The aide, Eddie Charmaine Manansala, "wasn't aware she had to file a staff report," said Pelosi's spokeswoman Jennifer Criden.
"What has come out of the DeLay stories is a recognition of a long-standing problem in which trips sponsored by nonprofits may actually be funded by people seeking to influence votes," said Larry Noble, a former counsel for the Federal Election Commission. "Maybe this is when things reach critical mass and the problem is addressed."
Democratic U.S. Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana, since retired, took the most official sponsored trips in the last five years, with 61.
Other Democrats among the top 10:
• 56 trips: Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, former presidential candidate
• 51 trips: Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts
• 49 trips: Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, former vice-presidential candidate
Source: PoliticalMoneyLine
A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones that need the advice."
- Bill Cosby
posted on April 27, 2005 08:30:38 AM new
The problem isn't trips per se Bear and you know that and so does the person that wrote the article. The problem is that lobbyists are not allowed to pay for them and you know that, and so does the person that wrote the article and so does Tom Delay.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 27, 2005 08:45:55 AM new
Just politics as usual. It's okay when we democrats do it [anything] but not okay when the Republicans are doing it.
Both DeLay and Frist are the current [i]targets[i] of the dems...they're strong, successful Republican leaders so the dems are looking for anything they can find, whether true or not, to use against them.
And it's funny that this 'who does this more often' subject has been pointed out, not only on this one article either.
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Four More Years....YES!!!
posted on April 27, 2005 09:21:58 AM new
YAWNnnnnn Same old, same old.....Repugs just don't get it.
First, DUH..everybody knows everybody does it.
Second, "everybody" is NOT the CURRENT Speaker of the House which I think is third in line to be president ( and I'm sure some anal poster will google that).
Third, DeLie didn't like the ethics so he CHANGED them proving that, as CURRENT Speaker of the House, he has NO ethics.
Fourth, You think THIS is his biggest problem????...Hahahahahaha ...NOT !
OH, there is SO much more ...
But then the neocons in here, who have no ethics just like their leaders, won't acknowledge the wrong doing because they have no ethics.
This has been proven by their conduct in the RT and Ebay...no ethics whatsoever.
Ok, now let's hear how "Clinton did it", "Ted Kennedy did something thirty years ago " and other non-pertinent, non-answers.
And don't forget to attack me personally to defend your crooked leadership....that's SO "logical".
So predictable....yawwnnnnnnn!
posted on April 27, 2005 09:27:06 AM new
Well well it seems that ole Crowfarm is still trippin right here in the RT. She should make a sig line that reads; What a long hard trip it's been.
posted on April 27, 2005 02:41:24 PM new
Linda - I have changed my mind about Frist and DeLay of late... not sure if you saw that. I think that they could and should do whatever they want. Afterall, the more self-righeous and ultra-religious they act, the more moderates they turn off.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 27, 2005 04:39:17 PM new
Oh my goodness, Democrats went on a little over 300 more trips that Republicans. Now there's some [b]really BIG news.{/b}
____________________________________________
Dick Cheney: "I have not suggested there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11..."
posted on April 27, 2005 06:13:18 PM new
Thanks dblfugger and edited to add: you too, yellowstone.
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You're not fooling me, fenix.....even though what I HAVE noticed from your posts is that you've been watching/listening to Fox News on a regular basis lately.
Funny thing is when the call was made for the 'Ethic's committee' to meet to settle this most recent attack....the dems objected. They only THINK they have it both ways....but everyone's noticing their antics. They're GREAT at obstructing everything lately.
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Four More Years....YES!!!
[ edited by Linda_K on Apr 27, 2005 06:16 PM ]
posted on April 30, 2005 06:16:57 PM new
Let's not forget Bush's recent 60 cities in 60 days tour to promote his SS plan.
Let's see that counts as 60 trips.
What a waste of taxpayer money.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
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President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on April 30, 2005 08:55:13 PM new
linduh says, ""Funny thing is when the call was made for the 'Ethic's committee' to meet to settle this most recent attack....the dems objected. They only THINK they have it both ways....but everyone's noticing their antics. They're GREAT at obstructing everything lately. """
linduh you aren't exactly telling the whole story are you Here's a few "minor" details you left out:
""Knowing that he faced investigation for a growing pile of scandals, Tom DeLay and the GOP House leadership purged the Ethics Committee of Republicans -- including Chairman Joel Hefley (R-CO) --
who weren't willing to overlook charges against DeLay, replacing them with members loyal to the leadership.
They then changed the Committee rules to make it more difficult to begin investigations. Democrats on the Committee have refused to take any action in protest until the rules are restored."""
Democrats aren't "obstructing" anything...they are presenting the OTHER point of view....(sorry to dissappoint you, linduh, it's not quite a dictatorship yet
posted on May 1, 2005 04:11:45 AM new
" Ms.Fenix... have I ever told you that I am totally in love with your mind!"
hey magster,too bad no guy ever told you that<snicker>
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on May 1, 2005 08:00:44 AM new
yea....guys are all alike
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on May 1, 2005 10:08:26 AM new
Bear & Linda _K you both are so JADED in defending the crooks in your party you both have lost touch with reality.
Reality is a crook is a crook no matter if he or she is republican or democrat. The vast majority of Americans think no matter what party a crook belongs to that crook should be booted out of office.
HEY PEOPLE THE 2006 MID TERM ELECTIONS WILL BE HERE SOON. GET INFORMED AND INVOLVED SO YOU CAN VOTE ON WHAT IS GOOD FOR ALL AMERICA NOT JUST THE PRIVILEGED FEW.
posted on May 2, 2005 09:06:17 AM new
More "Do as I say, not as I do", huh Peepa.
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) Had Lobbyists pay for Trip
Mon May 02 2005 09:40:10 ET
The controversy over lobbyist-funded Congressional travel has brushed yet another Member. Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) took a five-day jaunt to Miami in February. The original travel disclosure Dicks’ office filed with the House Clerk listed the sponsor as the Spectrum Group, a defense lobbying firm in Alexandria, Va.
That would be a violation of House Rules, ROLL CALL reports on Monday.
And in recent days, Dicks’ office has appended two “corrections” to its initial filing.
The upshot is that Dicks, who sits on the House Appropriations subcommittee on Defense and the Homeland Security panel, has decided to pick up the tab.
That response is not satisfactory to one leading ethics watchdog.
“Reimbursing a lobbyist is not an acceptable option,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s the concept that everybody does it — but that isn’t an excuse.”
Lobbyists and lobbying firms are prohibited from funding Congressional travel for Members or staff, even if they later get reimbursed by an entity that is allowed to pay, such as lobbyists’ clients, including corporations and trade associations.
On April 27, Dicks’ press secretary, George Behan, said that Dicks had filed an amended travel report that changed the name of the trip’s sponsor from Spectrum to Raydon Corp., a Dayton Beach, Fla.-based client of Spectrum that makes military training simulators.
Gregory Sharp, president of the Spectrum Group, did not return multiple phone calls last week. A Raydon spokesman said he would look into the trip but did not follow up.
On April 27, Behan also said that one of Dicks’ staffers made the change “when she saw the reimbursement come in from Raydon.”
