One of the most famous travel boondoggles -- a golf trip to Scotland for members of Congress and staff members, hosted by the lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- led Congress in 2007 to tighten restrictions on who could sponsor trips and for how long. But despite the new restrictions, the number of Congressional trips paid for by outside groups has actually increased since 2007, to more than 1,600 from about 1,300, according to Legistorm, a research group that tracks Congressional data. To comply with the new restrictions, many political and lobbying groups have turned to nonprofit groups they set up and finance to host the Congressional trips.
For more, see Skinny-Dipping in Israel Casts Unwanted Spotlight on Congressional Travel by , August 21, 2012 at NYTimes.com.
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