Politics & Government

Lieberman Accepts Dozens of Special Interest Trips, Report Says

The outgoing senator accepts many free trips for himself and his staff, while Connecticut's other lawmakers go on much fewer.

When it comes to foreign policy, Sen. Joe Lieberman .

When it comes to accepting foreign trips paid by special interest groups, for him and his staff, he's just as supportive.

According to a story by the Connecticut Mirror, Lieberman accepted 248 trips for him and his staff since 2000 -- that's more than all other legislators in Connecticut combined.

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The only other federal legislators in Connecticut in office that long are U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3), who accepted 30 trips for herself and staff, and John Larson (D-1), who accepted 62.

Lieberman is the 27th "most traveled" member of Congress when it comes to accepting free trips, according to the database Legistorm. He took 51 trips for himself in the past 12 years.

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In 2007, reforms put limits on congressional trips funded by special interest groups by limiting the duration and requiring disclosure, reports ProPublica. However, there's a loophole that doesn't require these rules if the trip is funded by a charity.

Since U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) took office in 2009, he's reportedly accepted five trips total for him and staff. U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy (D-5) accepted 3 for staff since 2007. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney accepted 7 trips since 2007, and U.S. Richard Blumenthal had his staff go on two.

Editor's note: It was originally reported that Joe Courtney accepted 13 trips since 2007. The correct number is 7.


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