Lawmakers and their staff took fewer privately-financed trips in 2010 than any other year since LegiStorm started tracking the data, but the average cost of those trips rose to its highest point.
The main factor behind the increased trip value seems to be a larger proportion of trips overseas. Turkey was the most traveled-to international destination in 2010, easily beating out Israel, which is generally at the top of the chart.
There were 1162 trips taken in 2010, down from 1363 in 2009 and nine fewer than were taken in 2008, another election year. The total value of the trips was reported as $3,309,593, or an average of $2,848 for each trip. More than 400 trips were taken overseas in 2010, 35.1% of the total. The previous highest proportion of overseas travel was 30.1% in 2007.
The numbers continue a trend in place since reforms were enacted to curtail trips paid for by lobbyists in the wake of the Abramoff scandal. Privately-sponsored travel peaked in 2005, when lawmakers took more than 4,900 trips. The next year the number fell to fewer than 1,800 and has been fewer than 1,400 the past four years, with slight bumps in non-election years.
The most free-spending sponsor in 2010 was the Aspen Institute, which shelled out more than $600,000 for 88 travelers throughout the year. The nonpartisan think tank hosted policy conferences in locations such as Tunis, Lisbon and Madrid, in addition to its campuses in Aspen, Colo., and Queenstown, Md.
Although Turkey beat out Israel in number of travelers, the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF) was once again near the top of the list. The affiliated charity of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) sponsored 63 trips to Israel costing $530,389. AIEF and the Aspen Instute have traded places atop the list of top-spending sponsors for the past five years.
LegiStorm's congressional travel database covers 29,000 trips since 2000 by members of Congress and their aides, with a total disclosed value of more than $62.1 million.
