Destination: Controversy / Was Pricey Congressional Trip a Fact- Finding Mission or ‘Egregious’ Boondoggle?

Perhaps few congressional delegations have raised sharper debate behind the scenes than one that journeyed to some of the top tourist destinations in the Western Hemisphere in 2005.

Some 34 travelers – including 12 members of Congress and eight congressional spouses – plus an Air Force Boeing 737 and its crew of seven made the trip. No Virginia lawmakers were on board.

After a two-year effort through the Freedom of Information Act, the State Department recently released to Cox News Service e-mail exchanges among department officials, military officials and congressional aides that provide a window into the disputes, as well as the hidden costs involved in such a trip.

One State Department official refers to the delegation as a “monster,” and another blasted it as the worst boondoggle witnessed in her 27-year diplomatic career.

Led by then-House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, a California Republican who has since lost his seat, the trip caused a stir in its planning stages when The Hill newspaper reported that it would include the Galapagos Islands. That destination was quietly dropped.

The final 11-day itinerary took the group to the Panama Canal, to Buenos Aires, Argentina – for touring and a tango show as well as brief official meetings at their hotel – then to the southernmost tip of the continent for a boat outing to see the famed penguins of Tierra del Fuego. Then it was off to the waterfalls of Iguacu in Brazil and a foray into the Amazon jungle.

En route home, most of the delegation stopped at the beach resort of Tobago for four nights (one extra to avoid a snowstorm in Washington).

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The stated purpose of the congressional delegation was to focus on “resource-based issues such as biodiversity, wildlife conservation programs, parklands, energy issues, timber and forestry management, world heritage sites, mining, multiple land use and implementation of U.S. assistance programs overseas, particularly those of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”

The delegation included Pombo and four other House Republicans plus seven House Democrats, eight congressional spouses, seven staff members, a physician and six military escorts.

In the group were Rep. Tom Tancredo, the Colorado Republican who is now running for president, and his wife, Jackie. Tancredo said through his spokesman that his chief memory of the trip was that he found it “frustrating to be constantly flying.”

The far-flung travels brought a far harsher judgment from one of the State Department officials involved in the planning.

“In my 27 years with the department, I’ve seen some [delegations] that are boondoggles, but this one is really egregious,” Dianne Graham, information officer at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, e- mailed her colleagues.

The itinerary all but guaranteed that “no work” would be done, she wrote. “Aren’t we supposed to fight against waste, fraud and mismanagement?”

The undiplomatic comment drew nervous responses from other State Department officials, some of whom sympathized with her concerns but argued that congressional travel is a matter for congressional reform. “Until that happens, venting is fine but we still have to assist,” one official e-mailed.

The e-mail exchanges among the trip planners provide details that point to a total cost of at least $420,000 in jet transportation and per-diem expenses alone.

Delegation participants who were contacted, including Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Democratic Rep. Ruben Hinojosa of Texas, declined to comment.

Other members of the delegation included Republican Reps. Dennis Rehberg of Montana and Devin Nunes of California, and Democratic Reps. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, Grace F. Napolitano of California, Jay Inslee of Washington state.

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

Originally published by Cox News Service.

(c) 2007 Richmond Times – Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.