DeLay, R- Texas , is facing criticism after reports earlier this year that a lobbyist paid for a trip to London in violation of travel rules. Other lawmakers received some unwanted attention in March for trips that were sponsored by the Korea-US Exchange council, which is registered as a foreign agent, also a violation. But privately sponsored travel in 2005 has not slowed as a result.

Over the last five years, lawmakers have traveled more and spent more in non-election years than in election years. Congressional travel this year is keeping pace with that of 2003, the last non-election year.

From January 1 to May 9 in 2003, members of Congress took 527 trips at a cost of $1.4 million. Over the same period in 2005, lawmakers took five fewer trips, but spent $300,000 more, all of it supplied by private sponsors.

"I'm not surprised that congressional travel continues because it's a very valuable resource," said Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. Wicker leads the pack in the amount spent in 2005 travel and said he has no plans to scale back.

Wicker took four trips for $37,549, most of which was spent on one February trip to South Korea. He said that he met with the South Korean minister of foreign affairs and defense secretary on the trip and discussed the current thorny problems involving North Korea. He also met with the American Chamber of Commerce, he said.

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Ohio, took nine trips, more than anyone else. The total cost for his trips was $6,406, and all of them were within the U.S. Calls to his office were not returned.

The largest sponsor of congressional travel continues to be the Aspen Institute, whose stated mission is "to foster enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue." The non-partisan group has spent $390,939 this year on 39 trips.

"As long as the facts are made clear, and the distinction [made] between what we do and lobby groups do, then it's clear that what we're doing is above board and in no way attached to lobbying at all," said Jim Spiegelman, director of communications for the institute.

Alex Knott, political director for the Center for Public Integrity, a government watchdog group, suggested that travel may have actually decreased, but lawmakers might be doing a better job of reporting their trips as a result of the attention paid by the press to trips by DeLay and others.

"This could be a truer number than before," he said.

The other possibility, though, is that "lawmakers still believe that nobody's looking," he said.

Return to Power Trips: Congress hits the road