Democracy 21 calls for tighter travel rules

Democracy 21, the watchdog group, called on the House ethics committee yesterday to safeguard new rules governing lawmakers’ travel.
 
In a six-page letter to the chairwoman and ranking member of the panel, Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, outlined specific ways to protect the rules, arguing that they would "only be as effective as [their] implementation, interpretation and enforcement.
 
The new rules require the panel to issue more explicit guidelines on travel by Feb. 20. 
 
Wertheimer’s letter addresses a loophole widely criticized by watchdogs. The new rules prevent lobbyists or private companies that employee lobbyists from sponsoring or accompanying members and staff on trips, but do not stop organizations affiliated with an entity that lobbies from paying for such travel.
 
Wertheimer wants the panel to provide "special scrutiny" of such cases, including requiring the non-lobbying affiliate to submit additional information to show that the affiliate is not being used as a "conduit" or "pass-through" by the lobbying organization. He also wants the committee to require non-lobbying affiliates to show proof that the lobbying organization is not financing or helping conduct the trip.
 
Other recommendations include:

" A signature from the committee’s chairman and ranking member on all travel pre-approval letters, and making all pre-approval letters available to the public.

" Guidelines to assess whether travel expenditures are reasonable and necessary for official purposes to ensure they are not being used as a "de facto vacation." "For example, attendance at a conference held at a traditional vacation destination such as the Caribbean or Hawaii, should not be treated as complying with this requirement unless the purpose of the trip and location of the event are directly related.

" That the committee use the charter cost of a company plane in determining whether the cost of travel for a trip is a "reasonable" expenditure.

" Prohibiting the "stacking" of trips, a practice described as breaking the rules outlawing travel beyond the four-day and seven-day limits for domestic and international travel, respectively, by a member or staffer traveling on consecutive trips sponsored by separate organizations. 
 
Calls for comment to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio), the ethics committee’s chairwoman, were not returned.