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.
When you're the Chief of Staff to the Majority Whip, apparently everyone and their brother is just itching to pay thousands of dollars to fly you around the world to "educate" you. When said Majority Whip is Tom DeLay, those trips total more than $85,000 of other peoples' money:
Susan Hirschmann, DeLay's chief of staff from 1997 until she became a Washington lobbyist in 2002, took 18 trips from 2000 to 2002 -- many with her husband -- at a cost to others of more than $85,000, according to a tally by the Center for Public Integrity, American Public Media and Northwestern University's Medill News Service.
That's from a Washington Post article referencing a report from the Center for Public Integrity and other nonprofit groups. The full report can be found here, and contains a wealth of information about who Hirschmann travelled with, and on who's dime, as well as details on other Congressional aides who have racked up thousands of dollars worth of travel, including Brian Gaston, the current Chief of Staff to Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO).
Last week the House Ethics Committee made the beltway news because, of all things, it solicited input on reform of travel rules. You know things were bad when such a gesture of transparency results in headlines in The Hill:
Often criticized as secretive and stalemated, the House ethics committee took a leap into transparency yesterday with a landmark open hearing that asked frequent sponsors of private congressional trips -- and one government watchdog -- how the chamber should change its travel standards.
Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) seems determined to issue new travel rules by the June 15 nonbinding deadline set forth by the House lobby reform bill. One thing most everyone seems to agree on is that Members should have to get prior approval from the Ethics Committee before sponsored travel. One thing where not all Congressmen, reformers, and lobbyists were all in agreement was on punishment standards for staffers:
[Heritage Foundation Vice President for Government Relations Michael] Franc urged a different standard for staffers than lawmakers. The former, he observed, can be fired, while the latter should not face expulsion for travel slipups unless they involve a felony.
We'll just have to wait and see what kind of reforms the Committee comes up with.
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