Many Americans hit hard by the recession have been trading their annual family getaways for summer "stay-cations." But the economy apparently has done little to ground members of Congress.
Iraq and Afghanistan may be frequent destinations for lawmakers, but they pale in comparison to the more exotic places they've traveled, like Ireland, Switzerland and China.
Lawmakers defend their travel, saying missions like these are important to share valuable intelligence and build relations.
But Rep. Tim Johnson (R-Ill.) says some members of Congress take a spendthrift attitude about travel -- because it's not on their dime.
"I think the let-them-eat-cake mentality that many of us, many members have adopted in both the House and Senate is just not acceptable to the American people," Johnson said.
But that isn't reflected in the numbers. Congressional spending on overseas travel tripled in the last eight years, and has jumped 50 percent since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.
According to congressional travel records, House and Senate members spent 6,910 days overseas in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2009, spending a total of $9.4 million.
Representatives traveled to some 127 countries this year, including hotspots in Europe, the Greek Islands, Hong Kong and Dubai. The Senate did its own share, traveling to 100 different countries -- including places like Scotland, Morocco, Denmark, Sweden and Italy.
Add in the cost of military transport, and estimates show that totals for congressional travel this year will reach over $15 million -- $2 million more than last year.
What's worse, there is virtually no limit on what they spend, where they go, what they do, or how many times they travel.
Records show that lawmakers often file expense reports with minimal information. - FOX News Story
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