Speaker Pelosi Decides Who gets to see the Oil Spill First Hand

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) wanted to fly 10 lawmakers down to the Gulf of Mexico to see the damage caused by BP’s gigantic oil spill firsthand.

House Democrats said no.

Scalise’s trip was rejected for a variety of bureaucratic and logistical reasons, but it has also opened a new vein of partisan squabbling over who should be allowed to arrange a trip to view the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Republicans want to be able to take trips using their office spending allowance. But Democrats have heard from the Department of Homeland Security, which has asked that Congress organize trips through committees of jurisdiction, to avoid having to cater to a large number of individual lawmakers in a disaster zone, Democratic aides say. GOP leaders say they’ve heard nothing of this.

The squabbling over who gets to travel to the Gulf and on whose dime is the latest sign that congressional oversight of the oil spill has been bogged down by partisanship. Congress has held upward of 20 hearings on the disaster, often duplicative ones each week, as lawmakers struggle to grasp and fully realize the scope of BP’s giant oil spill.

Scalise wants to organize a trip so lawmakers can fully grasp the impact before they vote on oil-drilling regulations. And he doesn't want to do it through a committee, because the members don't fit neatly into specific panels: They stretch across committee, and even partisan, lines.

About two weeks ago, Scalise requested to be able to use his Members Representational Allowance — a fund typically reserved for office expenses and travel back to the district — to go to the Gulf with a group of about 10 other lawmakers.

He sought permission from the House Administration Committee, which regulates office account spending and would have to approve the trip. After a few weeks, Scalise was ping-ponged between several committees. Eventually, John Lawrence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s chief of staff, told Scalise’s chief that “it was unlikely that the request would be granted.” - Politico Story