REP. SWEENEY OLYMPIC LAKE PLACID TRIP CLEAR ABUSE OF OFFICE - TAKES ADVANTAGE OF LOOPHOLE

13 Jul 2006 // Washington, DC – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today denounced Rep. John Sweeney’s (R-NY) Olympic get-away trip to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York as a recreational holiday that clearly takes advantage of a loophole in the House ethics rules.

CREW has reviewed and posted on its website www.citizensforethics.org:

•the letter Rep. Sweeney wrote to the House Ethics Committee on the trip;

•the House ethics letter that was sent in response to Rep. Sweeney’s request for guidance on the trip; and

•the itinerary of Rep. Sweeney’s “Congressional Winter Challenge” trip from January 6-8, 2006 to Lake Placid

The fundamental requirement of the travel rules is that the subject matter of the trip be related to the official duties of the participating Member, officer or employee. The rules allow a member to attend a meeting or a speak engagement or participate in a fact-finding trip. The rules also make clear that, "events, the activities of which are substantially recreational in nature,” are not considered to be in connection with official duties and are, therefore, not permitted.

A glaring exception to the rule appears to be for travel paid for by the federal government or by a state or local government. Travel paid for by government entities is not subject to any of the restrictions that govern privately paid for travel, meaning that a state or local government may pay for a purely recreational trip.

A review of the itinerary for the Rep. John Sweeney’s weekend at the Olympic training center in Lake Placid indicates that the trip had absolutely no purpose other than pure recreation. Activities included curling, a hockey shoot, skating, snow boarding and skiing. The schedule also includes a break from all that recreation, providing for “free time,” “retail therapy,” and “a toboggan ride.” Nary a meeting is mentioned on the schedule.

A trip of this ilk, if paid for by a private organization, would be completely prohibited by House rules. Because, however, this particular trip was paid for by the New York Power Authority, an entity of the State of New York, it appears to comply with House rules.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, stated “we have the anomaly where Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) will likely be found in violation of the travel rules for taking a golf trip to Scotland with former lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff, but Rep. Sweeney and his colleagues can pretend to be Olympians for a weekend, without fear of repercussion.” Sloan continued, “that a trip of this sort is permitted under the rules just goes to show that Congress doesn’t take ethics seriously.”

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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit, legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565/press@citizensforethics.org.