Area lawmakers have accepted nearly $344,000 in free travel

WASHINGTON — After former lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty this week to using free trips and other gifts in an attempt to get official favors, we thought it might be high time to check out what free travel our Greater Cincinnati lawmakers have accepted.

The answer?

The 12 lawmakers who have represented Greater Cincinnati since 2000 – including former Reps. Rob Portman and Tony Hall of Ohio and Ken Lucas of Kentucky – have taken a total of 111 trips that cost nearly $344,000, or more than $3,000 per trip.

Here's the breakdown:

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio – 11 trips – $157,607
Former Rep. Tony Hall, D-Ohio – 10 trips – $34,965
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio – 11 trips – $34,939
Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio – 8 trips – $31,210
Former Rep. Ken Lucas, D-Ky. – 7 trips – $20,357
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – 9 trips – $19,162
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio – 3 trips – $13,301
Former Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio – 8 trips – $12,629
Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio – 4 trips – $9,492
Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky. – 10 trips – $9,259
Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky. – 2 trips – $660
Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio – no trips – $0
TOTAL – 111 trips – $343,581

These trips are legal and were not paid for by taxpayer dollars – they were paid for by private foundations, companies or organizations that invited the lawmakers to attend conferences or events. Under congressional travel rules, lawmakers must file a one-page written report within 30 days of the trip to disclose the location, cost and purpose of the trip.

But Kent Cooper, co-founder of PoliticalMoneyLine.com, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, Washington-based watchdog group that tracks congressional travel, said no agency enforces these rules! As the Abramoff scandal focused attention on such trips, "we found that a lot of members had been delinquent in filing these reports, and we saw a flurry of new reports filed," he said.

So to what exotic locations have Cincinnati’s lawmakers traveled to in the last year?

Boehner went to Monterey, Calif., to participate in a charity golf tournament, paid for by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. He also traveled to Boca Raton, Fla., and White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. (Click here for Boehner's report.)

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Cleveland, traveled to China for a conference on U.S.-China relations. He also traveled to Adventura, Fla., for a conference on health care issues. (Click here for Voinovich's report.)

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and his wife flew to Berlin and Munich, Germany, for meetings with the German Bundestag. (Click here for Turner's report.)

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, went to Dublin, Ireland, for an Aspen Institute conference on U.S.-European Union-Russia relations. (Click here for McConnell's report.)

Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Westwood, took just one trip last year to Baltimore, Md., for a retreat with other GOP conservative members of Congress. It cost $883 – and was paid for by his campaign. Turner went on the same trip, but his travel was paid for by the conservatice Heritage Foundation. (Click here for Chabot's report.)

Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky., took two trips last year, both to Kentucky, that cost a combined $660. He traveled to Louisville at the behest of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Foundation and Grayson courtesy of the Kentucky Christian University to speak at the school’s convocation. (Click here for Davis' report.)

Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, who was elected in a special election in August, hasn’t taken any free trips. Sens. Mike DeWine, R-Cedarville, and Jim Bunning, R-Southgate, also didn’t accept any free travel in 2005. (Click here for DeWine's report; Click here for Bunning's report.)

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