An article in The Record in Bergen County, NJ, reported that Rep. Scott Garrett (R - NJ) racked up thousands of dollars in trips to foreign countries paid for by groups like the American Israel Education Foundation, the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association, and the Korea-United States Exchange Council. Did these free trips influence his positions at all? Quite possibly. Earlier this year, he co-sponsored a bill calling for a free trade agreement with Taiwan (the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association, or CIECA, paid $5,080 so he could take a five-day trip to Taiwan a few years back. Note that CIECA works to improve Taiwan's business relations with the rest of the world -- it has nothing to do with mainland China).
Garrett's real problem, though, is his trip to Korea:
Garrett's Korea trip appears to have broken House rules because it was funded by the Korea-United States Exchange Council, a registered foreign agent, and House rules bar members from accepting travel from foreign agents.
You may have heard of the Korea-United States Exchange Council. It has ties to a very well-known Congressman from Texas, among others:
Roll Call reported last year that the Korea council was created by Hanwha Group chief executive Kim Seung-youn with the help of a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and funded trips for DeLay, Garrett, and 10 other members of Congress including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Donald Payne, D-Newark.
You can read about Delay's trip here.
Finally, Garrett violated some rules in reporting his trips. For example, he didn't file a report on the Korea trip until 15 months after he returned; it was supposed to be filed within 30 days. Garrett's opponent in this election has sent him a letter calling for an explanation. These are serious allegations, and we at Common Cause hope that Rep. Garrett has a serious explanation.
