“Lawmakers’ Global Warming Trip Hit Tourist Hot Spots”
Wall Street Journal
By Brody Mullins and T.W. Farnam
August 8, 2009

“When 10 members of Congress wanted to study climate change, they did more than just dip their toes into the subject: They went diving and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. They also rode a cable car through the Australian rain forest, visited a penguin rookery and flew to the South Pole.

The 11-day trip — with six spouses traveling along as well — took place over New Year’s 2008. Details are only now coming to light as part of a Wall Street Journal analysis piecing together the specifics of the excursion.

It’s tough to calculate the travel bills racked up by members of Congress, but one thing’s for sure: They use a lot of airplanes. …

Flight costs would lift the total tab to more than $500,000, based on Defense Department figures for aircraft per-hour operating costs…

Taxpayer-funded travel for Congress is booming. Legislators and aides reported spending about $13 million on overseas trips last year, a Journal analysis has shown, a nearly 10-fold jump since 1995…

The 10 members of Congress gathered at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on the morning of Dec. 29, 2007, along with several of their staff…

A spokeswoman for Mr. Melancon said the representative’s wife of 37 years, Peachy Melancon, added ‘insight and perspective’ that ‘only amplified the educational benefit he gained as a lawmaker.’..

The party boarded a C-40, the military’s business-class version of a Boeing 737. It is designed to be an ‘office in the sky’ for government leaders, according to the Air Force Web site.

The lawmakers touched down at their first destination, Christchurch, New Zealand, a few hours before sunset on New Year’s Eve…

On Jan. 2, the lawmakers and four aides flew to McMurdo Station in Antarctica on a supply flight, about 800 miles from the South Pole. ‘Take your camera to dinner,’ the itinerary reminded the travelers, for a post-meal tour of Discovery Hut, an outpost that was the launching pad for early South Pole expeditions…

The lawmakers toured the South Pole Station, including its post office. ‘Pre-address and pre-stamp any mail you wish to send from the South Pole,’ the itinerary reminded them.

After flying back to McMurdo, they visited a penguin rookery…

Next stop: Australia. The group took a boat trip to the Great Barrier Reef…

The tab for two days in Australia was more than $50,000, according to the travel-disclosure form. According to the document, the lawmakers spent $32,000 on hotels and meals, $7,000 on transportation and $10,000 for ‘other purposes.’ As on all such oversees trips, each lawmaker gets a daily stipend of $350 for incidentals, according to the form.

On the last night of their 11-day trip, the lawmakers stayed at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki…”

Click Here To Read The Full Article In The Wall Street Journal