In the spirit of sequester and legislative dictates, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) wants to restrict fellow congressmen from traveling abroad except for travel to visit troops in combat zones.
That may sound prudent, but it smacks of a few other thoughts:
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Congressional representatives exercise poor judgment and cannot be trusted to make correct decisions about diplomatic travel.
- The only diplomatic travel that’s any good is to a combat zone.
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Congressional foreign travel must stick out like sore thumb as a cost item.
Well, if you read the official report “International Travel by Congress: Legislation,
Background, and Potential Policy Options, R. Eric Petersen, Coordinator
Specialist in American National Government, Terrence L. Lisbeth, Reference Assistant, Mabel Gracias, Reference Assistant, March 29, 2012” your gut might turn.
Congressman Jones has just opened a can of worms and this is a big area worth investigation.
http://hobnobblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/R41388_2012_March29.pdf
“As sequester looms, Jones demands cap on congressional travel overseas
By Carlo Muñoz - 02/26/13 07:38 PM ET
Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) is calling for new restrictions on congressional visits overseas that would ban House members from taking federally funded trips outside the United States unless members are visiting U.S. forces stationed in an active war zone.In light of the $500 billion in across-the-board budget cuts facing the Pentagon and the services are under sequestration, military leaders should not have to spend those limited dollars shuttling lawmakers around the world on House business, he said in a letter sent to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday that was obtained by The Hill.
"If sequestration goes into effect, I urge you to announce . . . that either you or any House committee chairs will be approving any overseas trips for members of the House of Representatives," Jones wrote.
Congressional delegations, or CODELs, to Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world are usually coordinated by the Pentagon or State Department and financed by federal funds set aside specifically for such trips.”
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