Capuano, wife given a $19,000 trip to Brazil
Congressman defends corporate-paid excursion
(Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story on congressional travel on Page One Thursday misstated the hometown of US Representative John F. Tierney. He is from Salem.)
WASHINGTON -- As lawmakers last month scrambled to avoid the fallout of a widening influence-peddling scandal, US Representative Michael E. Capuano of Somerville and his wife went on a $19,403 corporate-sponsored trip to Brazil -- one of the most expensive trips taken by any member of Congress during 2005, according to congressional travel records.
The trip included several lobbyists and representatives of companies that helped finance the nonprofit business organization that sponsored the trip, according to participants.
Congress is considering whether to ban such trips following the scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Currently, trips funded by companies and interest groups are legal as long as they aren't directly paid for by outside lobbying firms. But they have increasingly come under criticism because of the appearance that corporate sponsors are trying to curry favor with a member of Congress by paying for travel, lodging, and food.
Capuano, in a telephone interview yesterday, defended the trip, saying that he has many Brazilian-born constituents in his district -- which includes parts of Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston -- and that the trip enabled him to meet with Brazilian leaders on important trade issues. He said the private funding was necessary because he would not be able to persuade Republican leaders to authorize the trip as a government expense.
But Capuano said he might have skipped the trip if he had realized how much it would cost.
''My reaction was the same as yours: What the heck cost so much?" Capuano said. He said he was surprised that his business-class airline seats were so expensive. ''I had no clue," he said. ''I didn't pay for it."
Capuano said he was aware lobbyists were on the trip. ''I don't think there is anything wrong with it," he said, adding, ''I know what the times are. These companies do a lot of business in America." The trip by Capuano and his wife ranked as the 14th most expensive privately paid trip taken by any of the 535 members of Congress during 2005, according to an analysis done for The Boston Globe by Political Money Line, a service that tracks money and politicians.
''This is exactly the type of trip that is causing a problem," said Larry Noble, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, when asked about the Capuano trip. ''If it truly was . . . needed for their jobs, then they should be able to" fund it as an official congressional trip ''and explain it to the taxpayers."
Capuano's report said his trip was paid for by a group called the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, which is funded by an array of corporate sponsors. The trip included representatives of companies such as American Airlines,
The group flew around Brazil on a jet chartered from Embraer, an aircraft manufacturer. Claudio Felix, who is registered as a lobbyist for Embraer, was among those on the trip. Felix took Capuano on a tour of Embraer's plant near Sao Paulo, according to participants. Capuano is a member of a House aviation subcommittee.
Felix, reached by telephone, declined comment.
Government watchdog groups have long contended that including lobbyists on privately funded trips conveys an appearance of special interests trying to curry favor. During the trip, lobbyists can enjoy access to members that is unavailable to other constituents, the groups say.
David M. Klaus, executive director of the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, acknowledged that representatives of companies who funded the institute were on the trip. He said that half of the expenses were paid for by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
''We had representatives of sponsors on the trip that I assume are registered lobbyists for their organizations," Klaus said. Asked whether there was lobbying on the trip, he responded, ''We have an unofficial rule that you leave your lobbying hat at the door."
Klaus said such trips shouldn't be curtailed by Congress. ''Properly run, privately funded trips are not an abuse," he said. ''They provide tremendous benefits and tremendous learning opportunities."
According to Capuano's report, he and his wife, Barbara, flew from Boston to Brazil on Nov. 27 and returned Dec. 3. They listed their plane fare as costing $8,594 each. Their lodging costs were $736 and meals were $1,480.
Capuano said he learned the cost while compiling his report on congressional travel.
He said he went to Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasilia on the trip, meeting with corporate and political leaders. He said it was ''all work," adding, ''The weather was mediocre. There was no beach involved, no golf involved."
One Massachusetts member of Congress took a more expensive trip than Capuano last year: John F. Tierney, the Amherst Democrat, and his wife took a $20,760 trip to China in April, the seventh-most expensive trip of 2005, according to the computation by Political Money Line. The China journey followed Tierney's February 2005 trip to Cancun, Mexico, to study education reform.
Tierney, asked about the China trip, stressed that it was funded by the nonprofit Aspen Institute, a group that pays for many congressional trips and ''which has no association with lobbyists at all." The group is a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on educational issues and bans lobbyists from its activities.
Tierney said it should not be compared to the influence-peddling scandal involving congressional travel.
While strongly defending his China trip, Tierney said he would probably support a proposal to ban privately funded travel. ''In this kind of atmosphere we should probably ban it just so people don't get misperceptions on it," Tierney said in a telephone interview.
Altogether, members of Congress have filed reports for 1,111 privately financed trips, totaling $3.4 million, in 2005. Members are required to file reports within 30 days of their travel, meaning some reports for trips taken late last year might not have been filed yet.
The most expensive privately funded trip taken during 2005 was taken by Representative Bill Thomas, a California Republican, who went by private jet to Beaver Creek, Colo., from June 24 to 26, at a cost of $27,962, according to Political Money Line.
The trip was sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, and the Vail Valley Foundation, a group that sponsors cultural events. Thomas, who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, participated in a panel discussion on Social Security and tax reform, according to his travel report. A spokesman for Thomas did not return a call seeking comment.
Representative Martin T. Meehan, the Lowell Democrat, has proposed legislation that would limit the private funding of congressional travel and require members of Congress to provide stricter assurances that privately funded trips aren't arranged by lobbyists, regardless of who ultimately foots the bill.
Capuano said that his trips have been invaluable and that he would continue to take them as long as they are allowed.
''The places I go -- Israel, Ireland, Brazil -- I think they are justified," he said. ''Anybody who wants to follow me around is more than welcome to do it on these trips."
Michael Kranish can be reached at kranish@globe.com. 