Lobbyists can now quietly bankroll lawmakers' fancy trips
Members of Congress no longer need to reveal on their financial disclosure forms who picks up the tab for their all-expenses-paid trips, according to National Journal. What's more, the disclosure requirement change was made in relative secrecy, with no formal announcement.
Lawmakers must still notify the House's Office of the Clerk when they've been treated to a free trip, so private companies can't quite wine and dine politicians completely off the books. Yet the change nonetheless allows lawmakers to take junkets in a more opaque fashion — right as such trips are becoming more and more common.
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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