By Kathryn Watson
Members of Congress and their staffs took 2,175 privately-funded junkets worth nearly $6.2 million in 2015 — the most frequent and expensive annual trip totals since 2005, according to LegiStorm.
Rep. Jim McDermott led Congress with seven trips worth $45,593 in 2015. The Washington state Democrat was bested on the cost by another Democrat, California’s Rep. Alan Lowenthal , whose trips to Berlin and Israel were worth the most at $46,734, according to LegiStorm — a group that compiles and publishes mountains of data and other information about members of Congress and their staffs.
The 2015 totals exceeded the previous highs in 2005 when Congress took 4,917 trips worth nearly $10 million. Congress has taken fewer lobbyist-funded trips since passing ethics reforms in 2007, which requires full disclosure of lobbyist-funded travel.
The Congressional Institute, which describes itself as a “not-for-profit corporation dedicated to helping members of Congress better serve their constituents,” sponsored 547 trips in 2015, more than any other group.
The West Bank and Israel were the most popular destinations for privately financed trips in 2015, at 269 junkets worth $3.8 million.
Follow Kathryn on Twitter
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- The Florida candidate laser-focused on eradicating horrific animal crimes - March 22, 2024
- Sabo: ‘Rush was our GOAT, there was no equal and he made it look easy’ - February 18, 2024
- Dana Bash appears to want to crawl out of her own skin when Ramaswamy ‘goes there’ on J6 - December 7, 2023
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
