Congress Travel Budget increases 1000% Since 1995

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (left) and Sen. Richard Shelby in June on a river cruise in Paris, where U.S. politicians met with defense-industry executives. Gov. Bob Riley via Flickr

Congress's Travel Tab Swells -- Wall Street Journal

Spending on Taxpayer-Funded Trips Rises Tenfold; From Italy to the Galápagos.

WASHINGTON -- Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands.

The spending on overseas travel is up almost tenfold since 1995, and has nearly tripled since 2001, according to the Journal analysis of 60,000 travel records. Hundreds of lawmakers traveled overseas in 2008 at a cost of about $13 million. That's a 50% jump since Democrats took control of Congress two years ago.

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My Comment: They are doing it for the children.