When congressional staffers traveled to the Middle East, their trips cost private sponsors less than $9,000 each. But when a member of Congress went on the same trip, it cost more than $75,000.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) all joined the weeklong visit to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, sponsored by the Atlantic Council and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation. Their disclosures, however, showed tens of thousands of dollars of disparities in their trip totals. Panetta reported $75,807 in covered expenses, compared to $38,657 for Schneider, $20,505 for Nunn and $19,334 for Bacon. Gil Thompson, a senior adviser to Schneider, and Jackie Bossman, legislative director for Nunn, also attended. Both staffers’ totals came in under $9,000.
Panetta’s extraordinary total makes the trip not only the most expensive sponsored travel of the 119th Congress so far, but also the costliest in congressional history, according to LegiStorm’s database. The next closest was a trip to Israel in August by Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), which was more than $17,000 cheaper than Panetta’s trip.
Panetta’s total was primarily driven by transportation expenses and the inclusion of a companion. He and his wife, Carrie Panetta, had a combined transportation cost of more than $69,000, about $34,500 each, more than double the single-person transportation expenses of both Bacon and Nunn. Schneider, who also traveled with his wife, Julie, reported $32,300 in total transportation expenses, also more than half of the Panettas’ transportation total. The only notable difference in their itineraries was the departure point: the Panettas flew from California, while the other attendees departed from Washington, D.C. Apart from about $3,000 in additional miscellaneous expenses tied to his companion, Panetta’s lodging and other costs were identical to the other congressmen.
The N7 Initiative, a partnership of the Atlantic Council and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, organized the delegation as the first privately sponsored congressional trip following the Abraham Accords. The bipartisan group visited Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, meeting with senior officials to promote regional integration amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran. Schneider is the co-chair of the Congressional Abraham Accords Caucus, and Panetta and Bacon are also members.
I can confirm that the staff del I went on wasn’t nearly as nice as when my boss went. To be expected of course, i’m not expecting to be treated as well as a duly elected member of the House.