Limits don't slow trip perks for U.S. lawmakers

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON — Despite new House travel restrictions, lawmakers accepted free trips worth nearly $1.9 million during the first eight months of this year — more than in all of 2006, records show.

The increase in travel spending needs to be monitored closely, say watchdog groups that fear Congress may return to business as usual after corruption investigations landed some lawmakers in prison.

"There's a realization that these trips and meals are getting extra scrutiny," says Meredith McGehee of the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center, which supported the reforms. "That will last for a while, but we know it won't last forever. The ethos of politics is, 'What can we get away with?' "

Stung by scandals and worried about re-election, lawmakers last year drastically cut the amount of privately funded travel they took to $1.7 million, according to CQ MoneyLine, a non-partisan group.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-23-Travel_N.htm