What did it cost? What was learned?

By The Gazette Editorial Board

Junket or valuable fact-

finding trip? Or some of each? Unfortunately, it's often too difficult to learn the purpose and spending details for travel by congressional delegations.

A recent such venture that raised some eyebrows was reported in Sunday's Gazette. Six U.S. senators - Republicans Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Richard Shelby of Alabama and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, along with Democrats Tom Harkin of Iowa and Chris Dodd of Connecticut - attended the Farnborough Airshow near London, England, on July 15-20 to learn about the latest in aerospace technology. The trip likely cost taxpayers more than $100,000 - verifying actual expenses proved to be an unacceptably difficult task.

The delegation's mission may have been justified. Every senator other than Shelby, who did not respond to any questions from a Capitol News Connection reporter, said the trip was important because aerospace and defense issues are vital to their states' economies. OK - although we wonder whether the information supposedly gleaned by senators couldn't be collected through today's interactive communications technology instead of making an in-person appearance.

As for the cost: To Harkin's credit, he was the only one among the group to provide details. His office said he received $736 a night for five nights of lodging at the Hilton at Park Lane in London, plus $146 per day for five days of meals and incidentals.

If all the senators spent the same amount, it would total $26,460. Add that to the round-trip cost of $84,645 to fly the senators in an Air Force C-40 - a military version of the Boeing 737 - as estimated by a Pentagon official.

Trouble is, we don't know the real cost for sure. And we may not ever know because a complete bill isn't available and some costs absorbed by the State and Defense departments don't show up on congressional travel reports - which aren't published in the Congressional Record until months after a trip.

We agree with the watchdog groups, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Citizens Against Government Waste, which are critical of this process: Travel reports involving members of Congress need to be promptly filed, transparent and complete. And we think they should also explain what they learned (minus anything that jeopardizes national security) and why it could be useful in possible legislation.

Why not routinely post “What I learned” and “What it cost” on a government website or the congressmen's websites?

Taxpayers deserve a better accounting of their elected representatives' travel and spending activities.