By Maureen Groppe, Indianapolis Star, February 5, 2007
6 Feb 2007 // WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Dan Burton skipped 19 House votes, including measures to reduce college costs and cut oil industry tax breaks, so he could play in a golf tournament last month in Palm Springs, Calif.
Burton also missed hearings on Iraq and North Korea to play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, which pairs top golfers with politicians and celebrities such as actor and director Clint Eastwood.
A review of House votes for the past decade shows the Indianapolis Republican has been absent every year votes coincided with the tournament: 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2001.
This year in January, he missed a total of 20 out of 73 votes.
Only U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., has missed more votes than Burton among Indiana lawmakers since Congress returned to Washington last month. Buyer requested a medical leave of absence for much of the session so far to have surgery and physical therapy after a skiing injury.
Burton ranked last in voting among Indiana lawmakers in 2006, casting ballots in 89 percent of the 541 recorded votes.
The congressman declined several requests for comment.
House rules state that lawmakers shall be present for votes "unless excused or necessarily prevented." The House Rules Committee states in guidance to lawmakers that "grounds of necessity" can include a death in the family, illness or official business.
Federal law requires docking lawmakers' $165,200 salary if they're absent without sufficient reason, although that law has not been enforced.
The tournament is the third event each season on the PGA Tour and pairs celebrities with golf professionals for four of the five days of play.
Although the amateurs are often celebrities from other sports and the entertainment world, politicians have a long history in the tournament. Congressional leaders have played, as have sitting presidents and vice presidents, including Dan Quayle, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.
Burton, a former high school golf champ, played in the tournament as an amateur.
"The people who voted for him sent him to Congress to represent them in votes. They may be interested to learn that he is instead golfing," said Mary Boyle, spokeswoman for Common Cause, a citizens government lobbying group. "Ultimately, it's up to his constituents. But I would guess that they did not send him to Washington so he could go play golf in California."
Amateur players such as Burton can gain entry in a variety of ways, including by paying the $7,000 entry fee as a member of a participating club or paying the walk-on fee of $25,000.
A spokeswoman for the tournament said Burton played in a "guest spot" of the Eisenhower Medical Center, a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif., that is the primary charitable beneficiary of the event.
Michael Landes, president of the Eisenhower Medical Center Foundation, said the hospital worked out an arrangement with Burton in 2004 after the tournament clamped down on the number of free slots. Because of Burton's longstanding relationship with the event, Landes said, the medical center was asked by the tournament to reserve a slot for Burton each year.
"It was requested that we try to be able to keep the congressman playing because he just loves the game and he loves the classic and he loves the whole atmosphere," Landes said.
The arrangement included allowing Burton to reimburse the hospital over a period of time, rather than paying all at once.
Landes said Burton reimburses the center by the end of the year. The entry fee for the slot was $10,000 and increased this year to $12,000, Landes said.
Burton's campaign committee reported donating $1,500 to the Eisenhower Medical Center in December 2004 and $6,353 in January 2006.
The latter contribution was part of a three-way distribution to charities Burton made to get rid of the $19,059 in campaign contributions he'd received over the years from disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients.
Federal Election Commission rules allow lawmakers to donate campaign funds to charity so long as the lawmaker does not personally benefit from the donation.
Burton, who has also spent thousands of dollars of campaign funds on other golf activities, has generated headlines in the past over his love of the links:
In 2005, Burton missed a vote in the House International Relations Committee while he played in a pro-am event before the Booz Allen Hamilton Classic at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland.
In 2004, the Guam government and tourism industry paid for Burton and two aides to fly to the Pacific Island in December. In addition to some official events including touring a military facility, Burton played in a charity golf tournament. After he returned, Burton tried to help Guam's tourism industry get a sought-after change in visa rules.
In 1997, Burton played in the AT&T-sponsored Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with the company's chairman. At the time, Burton headed the congressional committee overseeing the award of a federal telecommunications contract. AT&T hosted a fundraiser for Burton at the tournament.
In 1995, Burton led an unsuccessful effort to block tighter House rules on attending expense-paid charity golf events with lobbyists. Burton was one of the most frequent attendees of charity golf tournaments, and he defended the practice.
"Members of Congress who like to play golf -- when they're not in session and there's no business in the district -- can help charity and have fun," Burton told the Associated Press at the time. "It's a respite we really enjoy."
Between 1989 and 1994, the year before the tighter rules kicked in, Burton attended at least 12 charity golf tournaments for free, according to a 1995 article in Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress. The story was based on disclosure forms that are no longer available.
Burton, a former insurance salesman, has served in Congress since 1983. His conservative views are a good match for his strongly Republican district where he has never gotten less than 63 percent of the vote.