Private groups spent over $135,700 on behalf of members of Congress and their staff during the August recess.
There were 14 total trips. The most expensive trip was to Ukraine, which cost almost $47,000.
These trips are not funded by taxpayer funds, but some claim they allow Congress members to take expensive vacations.
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According to Insider, official documents indicating that special interest groups spent more $135,700 on travel expenses for members of Congress during the August recess show that they were spending more than $135,000.
These trips allow business leaders to meet and interact with lawmakers as well as their top staff members who are responsible for writing legislation. The House Democrats are currently working on a $3.5 billion spending plan, which is expected to establish new clean energy goals.
The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association joined 15 biofuel groups, including the Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Soybean Association, to spend $14,362.60 to send 13 congressional staffers to Iowa's Annual Biofuels Science and Sustainability Tour. The trip included visits to major cities and a meal at the Iowa State Fair.
These trips covered many other topics that are high on Congress' agenda.
The Foundation for Rural Service spent $18,932.94 on 11 congressional staffers to travel to Montana to meet with broadband companies, and learn about the challenges rural people face in accessing the Internet. As part of a bipartisan infrastructure bill, Congress will invest $65 billion to improve broadband.
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, an industry group, spent $9754.82 on another trip to Las Vegas to send four Republican staffers and one Democratic to learn more about telehealth. Documents show that the staff members attended HIMSS' annual conference, and stayed at Mirage Hotel.
Telehealth technology allows doctors and patients to communicate via phone or video. This technology was more popular in the aftermath of the pandemic. Congress is now considering expanding its availability, which would be a huge win for the industry.
Three GOP House members went to Kyiv (Ukraine) for $46,933.94. This was the most expensive August trip. Rep. Barry Moore from Alabama and Reps. Troy Nehls of Alabama and Tony Gonzales from Texas stayed at Opera Hotel and met with business leaders and cultural leaders.
Opera Hotel (@operahotelkyiv), shared this post
The trip was paid for by the American Charity Fund for Helping Children of Pridnestrovies and Moldova Inc.
Trips funded by special interest are controversial
Privately funded travel is supported by lawmakers and staff because it allows them to gather crucial information that will help them make policy decisions. Open government groups worry that there are too many loopholes in Congress that could give special interests adisproportionate amount of influence and blur the lines between vacations and official duties.
One example of this was an $84,000 trip to Qatar earlier in the year, during which Eric Swalwell (California) and Ruben Gallego (Arizona) took a vacation from their official duties to ride camels along the coast with their wives. The US-Qatar Business Council paid for it.
This latest round of travels marks an acceleration from July 9, when Insider reported 11 special interest groups had funded privately funded travel to this point in 2021.
In 2021, at least 277 members or staff of Congress traveled on the dime of private organizations. According to an Insider analysis of disclosures published by Legistorm, which tracks Congress' travel, 249 of those travelers were Republicans.
Even so, this is still a significant drop from pre-pandemic levels. Private groups spent millions on congressional travel in 2019.
