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:

You may have heard of the Korea-United States Exchange Council.  It has ties to a very well-known Congressman from Texas, among others:

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.