Privately Sponsored Trips Hot Tickets on Capitol Hill
$50 million in freebie travel trips to Congress
Study finds almost $50 million spent on travel
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.
Who are the top travelers?
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.
In many instances, trip sponsors appeared to be buying
access to elected officials or their advisers. Some
such as the Nuclear Energy Institute, Microsoft,
Time Warner and The Walt Disney Co. clearly have
products to sell or programs to promote.
The motives of others the Congressional
Institute or the Mercatus Center at George Mason
University, for example are less obvious.
Congressional
Fact-Finding Missions?
Congressional ethics rules permit lawmakers and aides to take privately sponsored travel in connection with their official duties, but state that trips shouldn't be "substantially recreational in nature." Yet thousands of them approved in recent years have been to such prime vacation spots as Paris, Rome and the Colorado Rockies.
Source: U.S. House and Senate travel disclosure forms
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.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/powertrips/report.aspx?aid=799
Monday, June 05, 2006
Border Patrol Agents: Senator McCain Sells Us Out (Again)
Border Patrol Agents: Senator McCain Sells Us Out (Again)
By Jim Kouri, CPP on Jun 03, 2006
United States Border Patrol agents are not happy
with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) since he voted for the Amnesty Bill (S. 2611). And they're not being quiet about
their collective anger over the senator's actions and
remarks.
But, according to members of the agents’ union local 2544, Senator McCain has never been a friend to rank-and-file
Border Patrol agents. Local 2544 represents US Border
Patrol agents in Arizona, McCain’s home state.
He routinely ignores correspondence from Border Patrol
agents and often gives the impression that he is just
too big and too important to deal with us, they said.
He attempts to undermine our mission at every turn and actively supports the criminals who violate our laws.
He always trys to downplay the fact that illegal aliens knowingly and willingly violate our laws, and he is a close ally on immigration matters with Senator Ted Kennedy,
who we believe is the biggest disgrace of all time in
the United States Senate.
These law enforcement agents point to Senator McCain’s imperious attitude towards rank-and-file Border Patrol
agents and his complete disdain for their mission has been evident for many years.
We will not bother listing his website [for citizens to write to him] because it’s obvious he couldn’t care less what the average American thinks and he isn’t up for re-election
until 2010.
And these agents aren’t just singling out McCain for their
ire. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), who chairs the Judiciary Committee, is also in their sights. They point to how
Senator Specter, at the last minute, put a clause in the Senate’s shameful immigration bill that forces the
United States government to consult with Mexico prior to planning or building any fences or barriers on our border.
Not on Mexico’s [side of the] border, but yes, on United States soil. We can’t wait to see this fencing project after the consultations take place. Maybe they can even appoint Congressman Raul Grijalva to lead the consultations
for the United States of America.
The agents said that this is the same Mexican government
that sends millions of Mexican citizens here illegally to
steal jobs and send billions of dollars back to Mexico.
This is the same Mexican government whose soldiers smuggle drugs and shoot at Border Patrol agents. This is the same Mexican government that is corrupt to the core. This is
the same Mexican government that uses its consular officers
to sue the United States government.
Great move Specter. Talk about the FOX guarding the henhouse.
The Senate passed a shameful immigration bill at the
urging of an equally shameful George W. Bush, fresh off his dune-buggy riding jaunt in Yuma surrounded by a bunch
of adoring, star-struck Border Patrol managers, quipped
the agents.
This bill cheapens citizenship in this country (again), it throws the rule of law out the window (again), it places unconscionable burdens on DHS (verifying the identity of every illegal alien in this country within 90 days),
it repeats, and at a minimum, quadruples the worst
immigration mistake in the history of this country.
it sells out our sovereignty by forcing the American government to consult with the Mexican government
before planning or building any border fences, it encourages more widespread fraud than this country has ever seen
(you’ll see what we’re talking about if this actually
passes the House), and it is completely unenforceable
and will overwhelm the system, the agents said in a
statement submitted to the US Senate.
You [McCain, Kennedy, Specter, et al] have succeeded in placing the morale of frontline Border Patrol agents in
the toilet just when we thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse.
see more at
http://newsbyus.com/more.php?id=3822_0_1_0_M
more at senator mccain alert
By Jim Kouri, CPP on Jun 03, 2006
United States Border Patrol agents are not happy
with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) since he voted for the Amnesty Bill (S. 2611). And they're not being quiet about
their collective anger over the senator's actions and
remarks.
But, according to members of the agents’ union local 2544, Senator McCain has never been a friend to rank-and-file
Border Patrol agents. Local 2544 represents US Border
Patrol agents in Arizona, McCain’s home state.
He routinely ignores correspondence from Border Patrol
agents and often gives the impression that he is just
too big and too important to deal with us, they said.
He attempts to undermine our mission at every turn and actively supports the criminals who violate our laws.
He always trys to downplay the fact that illegal aliens knowingly and willingly violate our laws, and he is a close ally on immigration matters with Senator Ted Kennedy,
who we believe is the biggest disgrace of all time in
the United States Senate.
These law enforcement agents point to Senator McCain’s imperious attitude towards rank-and-file Border Patrol
agents and his complete disdain for their mission has been evident for many years.
We will not bother listing his website [for citizens to write to him] because it’s obvious he couldn’t care less what the average American thinks and he isn’t up for re-election
until 2010.
And these agents aren’t just singling out McCain for their
ire. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), who chairs the Judiciary Committee, is also in their sights. They point to how
Senator Specter, at the last minute, put a clause in the Senate’s shameful immigration bill that forces the
United States government to consult with Mexico prior to planning or building any fences or barriers on our border.
Not on Mexico’s [side of the] border, but yes, on United States soil. We can’t wait to see this fencing project after the consultations take place. Maybe they can even appoint Congressman Raul Grijalva to lead the consultations
for the United States of America.
The agents said that this is the same Mexican government
that sends millions of Mexican citizens here illegally to
steal jobs and send billions of dollars back to Mexico.
This is the same Mexican government whose soldiers smuggle drugs and shoot at Border Patrol agents. This is the same Mexican government that is corrupt to the core. This is
the same Mexican government that uses its consular officers
to sue the United States government.
Great move Specter. Talk about the FOX guarding the henhouse.
The Senate passed a shameful immigration bill at the
urging of an equally shameful George W. Bush, fresh off his dune-buggy riding jaunt in Yuma surrounded by a bunch
of adoring, star-struck Border Patrol managers, quipped
the agents.
This bill cheapens citizenship in this country (again), it throws the rule of law out the window (again), it places unconscionable burdens on DHS (verifying the identity of every illegal alien in this country within 90 days),
it repeats, and at a minimum, quadruples the worst
immigration mistake in the history of this country.
it sells out our sovereignty by forcing the American government to consult with the Mexican government
before planning or building any border fences, it encourages more widespread fraud than this country has ever seen
(you’ll see what we’re talking about if this actually
passes the House), and it is completely unenforceable
and will overwhelm the system, the agents said in a
statement submitted to the US Senate.
You [McCain, Kennedy, Specter, et al] have succeeded in placing the morale of frontline Border Patrol agents in
the toilet just when we thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse.
see more at
http://newsbyus.com/more.php?id=3822_0_1_0_M
more at senator mccain alert
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