Search the Power Trips DatabaseSounds fun and interesting. Now you can find out if your own senator or House rep. has been junketing on a corporate expense account or representing the electorate.
More than 25,000 public documents detailing the privately funded travel taken by members of Congress and their aides from January 2000 to June 2005 were made public by the Center for Public Integrity.
The searchable database is the product of nearly a year's worth of investigative research done by Center staff, American Public Media reporters and Northwestern University Medill School of journalism students.
Users are able to look up specific travelers, destinations, costs and sponsors of nearly 23,000 privately sponsored trips taken by lawmakers and their staff. In addition, users have the opportunity to search by specific members of Congress. The information is linked to copies of the original travel documents themselves, giving journalists and the public a chance to conduct their own reporting and analysis.
The Center has a summary of the biggest spenders and trippers between 2000 and 2005:
Here's a breakdown of the top-traveling congressional offices (legislator and staff totals combined) alphabetized by member...Anyone see a pattern there?
Offices Taking More Than $350,000 in Travel
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas)
Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio)
Rep. W.J. Tauzin (R-La.)*
Rep. William Thomas (R-Calif.)
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.)
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska)
Offices Taking More Than 200 Trips
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)
Rep. Larry Combest (R-Texas)*
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)
Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.)
Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio)
Rep. W.J. Tauzin (R-La.)*
Rep. William Thomas (R-Calif.)
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska)
* No longer in Congress
You can access the database for yourself here.
No comments:
Post a Comment