Some members of Congress were lucky in August; they received free trips that totaled $1,668,928. The representatives were paid during the summer recess in August; there were 130 trips taken in that month. For the year of 2013, members of Congress have received $3,346,611 for travel paid by outside organizations.
Some examples that the members reported include:
Rep. Lois Capps, (D-CA): a free $10,029 trip to Amman, Jordan, paid for by CARE.
Rep. Charlie Dent, (R-PA): a $17,478 free trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with his wife. Twenty-two other members and some spouses also traveled with them. The trip was paid for by the Aspen Institute, sponsoring a conference on Africa’s Emergence: Challenges and Opportunities for the United States.
Reps. Sean Duffy, (R-WI), ($14,741, Dave Reichert, (R-WA), ($6,683), and Jim Sensenbrenner, (R-WI),($8,846) free trips to Israel paid for by various organizations; Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ), a $20,021 free trip to Tel Aviv, Israel, paid for by the American Israel Foundation, who sponsored an education seminar.
Rep. Blake Farenthold, (R-TX): a free $7,266 trip to Beijing, China, sponsored by the Corpus Christi Economic Development Corporation.
Rep. Mike Honda, (D-CA): a free $5,675 trip to Istanbul, Turkey, sponsored by the Pacifica Institute.
Rep. George Miller, (D-CA): a free $2,958 trip to Bogata, Columbia, sponsored by the Washington Office on Latin America.