MEDILL NEWS SERVICE > Power Trips: Congress hits the road

S.C. senators, House members cut back on travel
By FORD C. O'CONNELL
MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON - Following widespread reports of ethics violations on Capitol Hill, half of South Carolina's lawmakers cut back on the number of trips paid for by private interests in 2006.

But Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the incoming House majority whip, was not one of them.

For the first eight months of 2005, Clyburn took six privately sponsored trips valued at more than $11,000, according to a Medill News Service analysis of travel disclosure forms. Those trips included visits to the Inter-American Economic Council in the Dominican Republic and to a Congressional Black Caucus meeting in Jackson, Miss.

During the same period in 2006, Clyburn stepped up his privately sponsored travel to eight trips valued at more than $11,500. His itinerary included visits to the Association of American Railroads in Ft. Myers, Fla., and to the Louisiana Democratic Party in Baton Rouge.

"I believe privately paid travel is unavoidable as a member of Congress and should be permissible as long as trips are fully disclosed in accordance with the law," Clyburn said. "As my disclosures illustrate, I fully report all of my travel."

Clyburn, who is about to become the third-ranking Democrat in the House, said his invitations to speak to groups across the country have increased significantly as he has risen in the ranks of the congressional leadership. Last year he served as vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and moved up to chairman in January. Clyburn also serves as the leader of the House Democrats Faith Working Group and is presently chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Yet, his affinity for travel pre-dates his rise within the House. In the first eight months of 2001 he accepted more than $43,000 in privately sponsored trips.

But Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., a Democrat, was one of four South Carolina lawmakers who cut back on the number of privately sponsored trips they have taken this year. The others were Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Republican Reps. Joe Wilson, and Henry E. Brown, Jr.

"The Abramoff scandal should make every member, myself included, very wary of the sponsor of the trip and the purpose of the trip," said Spratt, referring to influential lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to fraud and public corruption on Jan.3, 2006, for his attempts to curry favors from lawmakers.

Known for treating lawmakers and their aides to lavish trips, meals and gifts, Abramoff is at the center of one the largest federal corruption investigations in decades. In October, Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, became the first elected official to plead guilty in connection with the Abramoff scandal.

In the first eight months of 2005, Spratt went on two trips valued at more than $14,000 -- to Atlanta for an event hosted by the Global Policy Institute in January and to Ecuador for a conference sponsored by the Nature Conservancy in June.

During the same period this year, he didn't take any privately sponsored trips.

"If you look at what happened in 2006, I think the easier explanation would be that, one, we had an election and I was here every weekend working, and number two, I didn't really go looking for any trips to take, or anything like that," he said.

Privately sponsored travel for members is a valuable tool, Spratt said, but "it should be subject to closer scrutiny."

"I've rarely taken a (privately sponsored) trip that I didn't come back better informed and better able to deal with the issues that continually come up," he said, "and I think that's true for most members."

Kevin Bishop, spokesman for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., echoed the sentiment.

"The trips Senator Graham participates in usually center around an issue important to the state, or deal with topics likely to come before the Senate," he said.

For the first eight months of 2005, Graham took four trips valued at more than $4,700. During the same period in 2006, he took three trips valued at slightly more than $2,000.

The travel habits of three South Carolina lawmakers remained unchanged. They were Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Republican Reps. J. Gresham Barrett, and Bob Inglis.

Inglis, who rarely accepts privately sponsored travel, was once an anomaly -- not only in the South Carolina delegation but also among national lawmakers. These days, more members of Congress are following his example.

"The Inglis office avoids privately funded travel," spokesman Price Atkinson said. "With the exception of an orientation program at Harvard's Kennedy School in 2004 and 2006 (when he will be on a panel), Inglis has declined privately funded travel."

For the first eight months of 2005, South Carolina lawmakers averaged 2.2 trips valued at more than $4,500. During that same period this year, they averaged 1.6 trips valued at just under $1,900.

Nationally, for the first eight months of 2005, members averaged 1.8 trips valued at more than $6,600. During that same period in 2006, members averaged just less than one trip valued at more than $2,700.

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