Compared to some of his congressional colleagues, Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich accepted far fewer privately funded travel opportunities during his second term in the House of Representatives, and many of those trips were directly related to his committee membership.
According to data compiled by the Washington-based watchdog group Center for Public Integrity, Ehrlich and members of his staff reported accepting $61,250 for 25 privately funded trips between January 2000 and June 2005. Ehrlich was elected governor in 2002.
In contrast, retiring Maryland Sen. Paul Sarbanes and staff spent $147,508, and Rep. Steny Hoyer?s office accepted more than $88,635 in privately sponsored travel during the same period.
“These trips are bipartisan and privately funded, and are related to public policy,” said Henry Fawell, the governor?s spokesman and a former member of Ehrlich?s congressional staff. “Every trip made by a Congressman should be based on his work, and these were. Many of his [Ehrlich?s] colleagues could not say the same.”
Since he became governor, Fawell said Ehrlich?s official travels have been paid for with state dollars.
According to the travel records, Ehrlich sent staff members on overseas fact-finding missions including India, Germany, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. He spent most of his time traveling in the United States, speaking at and attending conferences. Ehrlich was a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Ehrlich and his wife, Kendel, attended the Consumer Electronics Association?s annual convention in Las Vegas three consecutive years. They also spent two days in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, Calif., meeting with Universal Studios executives on the tab of Joseph Seagram and Sons, the famous distiller and major national Republican campaign contributor.
The Ehrlichs also spent four days, and $9,963, touring the Arctic coastal plain and learningabout the resources of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The trip was paid for by Arctic Power, a grassroots group lobbying to open up the preserve for oil exploration.
Based on the information presented by the Center for Public Integrity study, it is difficult to tell whether privately funded trips taken while in Congress translate into influence at the State House, said David King, director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
“While it is certainly the case on occasion that these trips are a form of buying access, most of these trips are totally legitimate and within their duties as members of committees,” King said. “If you?re a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Consumer Electronics Association convention is exactly where you want to be.”
