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Lobbying Rules Slow, But Don't Stop, Trips

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By BILLY HOUSE

bhouse@tampatrib.com

Published: February 15, 2009

WASHINGTON - An attempt to limit lobbyist-funded trips has prompted mixed results among the Tampa Bay area's five U.S House members and Florida's two U.S. senators.

None of the area's federal lawmakers have taken more than one trip under the new rules that came out of the scandals involving former D.C. superlobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Some have not taken any trips.

At the same time, some have not been so shy about approving such travel by their staff.

Topping that list is GOP Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow. Serving as the No. 3-ranked House Republican - a post he gave up this year - Putnam took just one privately funded trip himself, to Miami, after the new congressional travel limits were signed into law in Sept. 14, 2007.

However, Putnam gave his go-ahead to 19 other such trips by aides - 12 in 2008 alone - a review of U.S. House records shows.

Putnam approved more privately funded trips in 2008 than all but nine other members of 435-seat U.S. House or 100-seat Senate, according to LegisStorm, an online congressional watchdog that has sorted such data.

Those trips included travel to conferences or other events in Germany, Israel and New Orleans, as well as to a Civil War battlefield in Virginia.

Putnam spokesman Keith Rupp, however, said comparisons with other lawmakers not in party leadership posts are unfair. In his role as GOP conference chairman, he argues, Putnam oversaw not just a personal office staff, but also a leadership staff used, in part, to help organize GOP events outside Washington, some paid for by outside sources.

"It's not even apples and oranges," said Rupp of any comparison with most other lawmakers. "It's apples and corn."

Despite the argument, the 20 trips Putnam has approved since the new rules took effect exceed the 17 trips approved by the No. 2 House Republican, Roy Blunt of Missouri.

The top House Republican leader, John Boehner of Ohio, has OK'd 24 such trips.

The Abramoff Effect

The new rules signed into law by former President George W. Bush prohibit lobbyists from accompanying lawmakers on trips, a favorite way to get the attention of a senator or House member.

They also specify that travel funded by companies employing lobbyists be limited to one-day stays, and that every trip be pre-approved by House and Senate ethics panels. The rules were relaxed for nonprofit groups, which are allowed to pay for trips that are several days long.

Privately funded excursions certainly aren't the only trips taken by members of Congress or their aides. Members of both the House and Senate also take delegation trips, known as CODELS (short for Congressional Delegation), paid for by taxpayers. The trips typically include members of both parties and rely on military planes.

For example, GOP Rep. C.W. Bill Young of Indian Shores - the ranking Republican on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee - took a trip with other lawmakers in October 2007 to Italy, at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $4,091.

But in recent days, there have been several reminders of why the new Democratic-controlled Congress in 2007 moved to tighten the rules on lobbyist-funded travel on the heels of the influence-peddling scandals that landed Abramoff in prison.

For instance, Todd Boulanger, a lobbyist who once worked for the now disgraced Abramoff, pleaded guilty in late January to paying for trips, sports tickets and meals for Senate aides in exchange for favorable legislation.

There have since been reports that a former staffer to former Commerce secretary nominee Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, is reported to be identified as "staffer F' in court documents relating to a lobbyist providing the staffer gifts in exchange for preferential treatment.

Impact Of New Rules

According to the government-watch group Public Citizen, the numbers of privately sponsored trips taken or approved by Congress, overall, appear to be dropping under the new rules.

Congresswide numbers for 2008 are not yet available. But there were about 410 such trips by lawmakers or their staffers in all of 2007, according to Craig Holman, legislative representative at Public Citizen. That compares with 2,110 trips in 2005 and 2006, and 2,306 trips in 2003 and 2004.

Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has approved nine trips since the new rules took effect in Sept. 14, 2007, including one for himself to a Democratic Leadership Conference in Virginia and two trips for aides to separate conferences in Germany.

Nelson had approved five trips for his aides prior to that, dating from Jan. 1, 2006, though none for himself.

Republican Sen. Mel Martinez and Tampa Bay area GOP Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite of Brooksville and Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor have each approved two privately funded trips since the new rules took effect. Of the three, only Brown-Waite took a trip herself, to a National Foundation for Women Legislators annual conference in Sarasota in November.

From Jan. 1, 2006, and Sept. 14, 2007 - before the new rules - Brown-Waite had approved five trips for her office, three of them for herself. Martinez had approved just one trip for a staffer.

Bilirakis, who took office in January 2007, approved one trip, for himself, before the rules took effect. The $10,391 tab for that trip to Israel from Aug. 5-12 was paid for by the American Israel Education Fund.

Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa has not approved any trips for herself or her staffers since she took office in January 2007, records show.

Closer Look At Putnam

Overall, Putnam has approved one trip for himself and 19 trips for staffers since the new rules took effect in September 2007.

Prior to that, Putnam had approved just two trips for either himself or his staff dating from Jan. 1, 2006.

But Rupp argues that as GOP conference chairman in 2007 and 2008, Putnam was "responsible for setting up and organizing congressional retreats" and other events.

For instance, six conference leader staffers were sent by Putnam to White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in early January 2008 in connection with a bicameral retreat for Republicans.

That event was sponsored by the Congressional Institute Inc., a nonprofit organization funded by corporate contributions and run by Republican lobbyists who regularly host seminars on such topics as taxes, energy and the environment.

Also, two staffers were each sent to Cincinnati and New Orleans in April and July 2008 to help set up bipartisan debates on health care and energy policy sponsored by the Congressional Institute and the Democratic Leadership Council.

Putnam did give the green light to several other types of privately sponsored trips for staffers, the House records show.

One Putnam legislative assistant took a trip Tel Aviv in December, with the $6,682 tab picked up by the nonprofit American Israel Education Foundation.

Another staffer traveled to Berlin in October 2007 for meetings on U.S.-German relations, with the $3,165 tab paid for by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress.

And one Putnam staffer took part in a one-day bus trip in November with other congressional aides to Fredericksburg, Va., where they toured a Civil War battlefield and got a pitch about the importance of preserving such sites. The $30-per-person bus ride and $7 lunch was paid for by the Civil War Preservation Trust.

The trip taken by Putnam himself was in November 2007to participate as a panelist at a Miami event on the topic of global leadership. The sponsor, Time Warner Corp., paid for Putnam's total $705 tab.

Public Citizen's Holman said Rupp makes "a legitimate argument" in defense of his boss regarding some of the trips Putnam approved for staffers, such as for organizing the congressional bipartisan debates.

The trips that concern him and other watchdogs, said Holman, are those paid for by outside groups seeking to persuade or entice lawmakers to take some legislative action.

Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673.

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