From Watergate to Travelgate

1 Jun 2005 // U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart was one of 43 House members who failed to report trips financed by special-interest groups, but did so after embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay came under scrutiny for his own travels, according to a review by the Associated Press.

Hart, R-4, Bradford Woods, told the AP that she checked her records after a news report that incorrectly listed her travels. During that review, Hart found that a trip to Hungary and Germany in November had not been reported.

Hart could not be reached by The Times for comment on Tuesday.

As a member of the House ethics committee, Hart could lead an investigation into allegations that DeLay, R-Texas, took trips paid for by a lobbyist although such deals are banned.

During a recent address before the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce, Hart said the controversy involving DeLay was being blown out of proportion by the national media while substantive issues, such as Social Security reform, were being ignored.

Hart and six other Republican representatives will also be the focus of a radio campaign by MoveOn PAC, the political action committee for the liberal organization MoveOn.org.

Starting Thursday, a radio ad titled "Stench" will run on 10 local stations urging voters to pressure the House members to remove DeLay as their leader.

According to a script provided by MoveOn PAC, the radio spot begins: "Unless you're driving, put your nose a little closer to the radio. Smell that? It's the stench of corruption coming from Congressman Tom DeLay, the Republican leader in Congress."

Later, the ad says, "And you know why we can smell this abuse of power all the way up here in Pennsylvania? Because our representative, Melissa Hart, voted for DeLay to lead the Republican Congress and took $15,000 in donations from him."

The ad asks listeners to call Hart's Allison Park office and "tell her to wash the stench away by firing Tom DeLay."

Hart has said the donation from DeLay's political action committee was not unusual.

In a prelude to the radio campaign, MoveOn PAC members will deliver two petitions to Hart's offices in Allison Park and Ellwood City today.

One petition will ask Hart to vote to fire DeLay as House majority leader; the other will ask her to remove herself from any investigation of DeLay since she has accepted money from his political action committee.

Despite a rule requiring public disclosure within 30 days after a trip's conclusion, the AP found at least 198 recently filed travel reports that were as much as eight years late.

The review covered pre-2005 trips that were disclosed since early March, when news articles questioned whether a lobbyist paid for some of DeLay's travel. A House rule prohibits lawmakers from accepting travel expenses from lobbyists.

Most of the previously undisclosed trips occurred in 2004, but some dated to the late 1990s. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., recently disclosed 12 trips, the oldest dating to 1997.

Stacey Bernards, a spokeswoman for Hoyer, said the office searched the files after the travel issue was raised initially by "Republicans doing opposition research to deflect from their own ethical issues."

Hoyer's undisclosed trips were nearly doubled by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., with 21. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., reported 20 past trips and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., reported 13.

Republican and Democratic House members were nearly equal violators of the rules in failing to disclose their personal trips within 30 days after the trip's completion. There were 23 GOP members, 19 Democrats and one independent, all of them months or years late in their reporting to the House public records office.

The volume of unreported trips surprised the former chairman of the House ethics committee, Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo.

"I didn't realize the extent of the problem," Hefley said in an interview. "There is no particular sanction (for tardiness) if you come back and file. They get lax. They don't think about it.

"People will be more aware now. The ethics committee will be more aware that it's a problem."

The travel in question is not for official government trips known as codels, shorthand for congressional delegations.

The special-interest trips are usually financed by corporations, trade groups, think tanks, universities and others. They often pay for first-class commercial seats or provide corporate jets for lawmakers.

Among the most expensive trips:

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and his wife, Amy, traveled to Australia last November, listing a combined airfare of $24,804 paid by the American Australian Association. The nonprofit group says it is devoted to strengthening relations between the United States and two allies, Australia and New Zealand. Matheson said meals and lodging were picked up by the Australian government, but no amounts were specified.

Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., and his wife, Claudia, traveled to Israel and Spain last November and December, listing the cost at $21,226. The travel, for participation in a Jerusalem conference, was financed by the Michael Cherney Foundation. The organization has various charity projects in Israel, including help for victims of suicide bombings.

Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., and his wife, Lynne, traveled to Israel and Jordan in January 2004 at a cost of $19,650. Linder said the trip, sponsored by The Jerusalem Fund, was designed to promote international understanding.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who listed nine trips, insisted her late reports were unrelated to DeLay's troubles, and blamed those who paid her way.

"Sometimes they run late because the people who are responsible for inviting you have to get you all the receipts, and they are so slow," Waters said.