[W]ASHINGTON — Members of the Vermont delegation have traveled around the world — from Cuba to Kuwait — on official congressional business.
Trips taken by Vermont’s two senators and single U.S. House representative over the past five years have spanned five continents, according to a VTDigger analysis of the delegation’s publicly funded travel.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., led the delegation for the number of publicly funded congressional trips, taking nine between 2013 and 2017, for a total of more than $100,000. Leahy traveled to China, Cuba, France, Switzerland, Colombia, Italy, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., took seven trips overseas, according to records. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., traveled abroad with three official congressional trips over the past five years. His most recent trip was in 2014. Welch spent less than $30,000 from 2013 to 2017; Sanders spent less than $6,000.
Taxpayers foot the bill for congressional delegations, known a CODELs, which must be approved by the House speaker, Senate leader or the chair of a committee.
Costs associated with congressional overseas travel have climbed in recent years, and observers say there are risks that trips could be wasteful and redundant.
However, Vermont’s lawmakers say the trips are fact-finding missions, important for informing policymaking and for engaging with foreign governments.
“Lawmakers get a lot of information from federal agencies and other sources, but there’s no substitute for seeing conditions firsthand and meeting with people on the ground, who members of Congress wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to meet,” David Carle, a spokesperson for Leahy, said.
Trips taken by members of Vermont’s delegation have been authorized by Senate or House leadership or congressional committees. The purpose of the junkets has ranged from building relationships with foreign governments to visiting sites of U.S.-funded projects.
Leahy traveled with between one and three staffers on all of his trips. The aides have included foreign policy experts, his chief of staff and his state director.
Leahy often heads the official delegations, a role which his spokesperson said requires significant organizational work before and during the trip. His staff travels with him on trips in order to help manage the extra responsibilities.
Travel costs for a single trip taken by Leahy and his staff have topped $40,000, as in one 2013 trip with two staff members to the United Kingdom.
Neither Sanders nor Welch traveled with staff on congressional delegation trips.
Delegations frequently travel by military-supplied planes, although commercial flights are sometimes used.
Welch’s most expensive excursion was a 2014 trip to Malta and Egypt, which cost nearly $16,000. The bulk of his expenses was $14,639 in commercial airfare, which his staff said was for business class travel arranged by a military aide and the State Department.
Spouses sometimes join the delegation on trips. They can join for protocol purposes, but are not supposed to be an additional expense to the delegation, according to Kate Hamilton, spokesperson for Welch.
Welch’s wife, Margaret Cheney, has joined the congressman on some trips, including to Vietnam, staff confirmed.
Jane O’Meara Sanders traveled with Sanders in 2013 to Israel, Turkey and Austria. She also went on a 2014 trip to Bolivia and Chile.
Leahy’s wife, Marcelle, frequently travels with the senator, joining him for events like official dinners with foreign leaders whose spouses will also attend, according to Carle. He added that her background as a nurse has made her an asset on trips with a health component, such as post-earthquake Haiti or visits with people affected by Agent Orange.
Spousal travel expenses are not disclosed in public records. Carle said Marcelle shares the senator’s costs on items like hotel rooms.
Leahy’s CODELs over the last five years have predominantly been associated with the Senate Appropriations or Judiciary committees, taking him to destinations in Asia, Europe and South America. He also traveled with an official Senate delegation in 2014 to France to commemorate 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion at Normandy.
Cuba was Leahy’s most frequent destination. The senator has tried to build relationships there as the United States moved toward normalizing diplomatic ties. He traveled to Cuba four times with CODELs between 2013 and 2017. He also led a trip in February of this year, which has not yet been disclosed in filings.
According to staff, some of the trips included meetings with Alan Gross, an American imprisoned in Cuba, who was released in December 2014 when President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced a thawing of relations. Leahy was part of the team that flew to retrieve Gross that day.
Welch and Sanders each traveled to Cuba once with official delegations in recent years. Welch went in 2015 and Sanders in 2014.
Sometimes Vermont lawmakers travel together. Both Leahy and Welch were on a 2014 trip to China, Vietnam and Hong Kong. The agenda included the launching a program spearheaded by Leahy and funded in part by the U.S. government to clean up one of the largest Agent Orange-contaminated hot spots left after the Vietnam War.
Welch has gone abroad with CODELs to Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Hamilton said the overseas trips are related to the congressman’s work as a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a subcommittee of that panel focused on national security, and the Energy and Commerce Committee.
“Congressional travel affords him the opportunity to engage with world leaders, academic experts, and business leaders on the pressing issues facing our state, our country, and the world,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said the trips also serve as an opportunity to build relationships with members of Congress from across the aisle.
In 2015, Welch was the only Democrat on a delegation trip with six Republicans to Tunisia and Ukraine. He attended at the invitation of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, according to Hamilton.
Sanders, who last traveled overseas with an official delegation in 2014, sees value in members of Congress engaging in diplomacy, especially in the context of high levels of military spending. The senator spent $5,693 on travel abroad over the 2013 to 2017 period.
“It is important that we understand the problems other countries face and that they understand our concerns. It is also important that we firm up our relationships with our allies, and that we try to improve relations with countries that we are not friendly with,” Sanders said in a statement. “Congressional face-to-face contact can often accomplish those goals at a tiny fraction of 1 percent of what we spend on weapons of destruction.”
According to Ryan Scoville, an associate professor of law at Marquette University in Wisconsin, who has followed issues around congressional travel, said lawmakers travel abroad to gather information for policy-making. They may also promote interests related to their constituents.
Scoville said there are risks with congressional foreign trips. Lawmakers traveling abroad have the potential to muddle relations with the other governments if they present a different set of views than the president, or if they offend foreign leaders. Members of CODELs may also prioritize parochial interests above national interests, according to Scoville.
Another concern around CODELs is using public resources efficiently.
Scoville said there is “a temptation for junketing.”
“It's one thing to travel to Afghanistan to meet with U.S. troops, but another to visit Belgium or Italy for sightseeing,” he said.
Scoville also raised a lack of centralized planning as an issue with congressional trips abroad.
“The result is that members of the House and Senate collectively tend to visit some countries more or less than one would think is warranted,” he said.
Note: This story was updated at 12:21 p.m. with an explanation for why staff travel with Leahy.
