European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 15, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday july 15, 19b6 the stars and stripes Congress Racks up big travel fab $4.76 million spent on trips in 1985 Washington apr Congress spent at least $4.76 million on foreign travel last year As members trotted he Globe to visit dozens of countries spend St. Patrick s Day in Ireland or observe superpower Arm talks in Geneva Switz Erland. The mouse Wilh three out of every live members making at least one offi Cial taxpayer financed trip abroad accounted for More than 14.08 million of the Bill according to records published in the congressional record. In the Senate 43 of the 100 members took at least one trip oversee with sen. Ted Stevens a Alaska emerging As Ca Pitol Hill s most frequent flier with seven trips. The Senate s travel Bill was at least $681,232. The actual Cost of congressional travel is understated in the reports which Are required by Law to show dates destinations and amount spent on transportation food and lodging for members and the aides who usually accompany them. But some reports fail to disclose the Cost of transportation which most often is provided by defense department air Craft at costs generally higher than what commercial airlines charge. For example. Senate majority Leader Bob Dole . Led a delegation of seven other senators and 18 aides on � two week trip last August to South Korea Taiwan Hong Kong and China. The group reported spending $70,360, but no transportation Cru were shown. House speaker Thomas o Neill jr., d mass., headed two travelling parties last year one of them spending to Days visit ing Germany Spain and the soviet Union. O Neill said the 13 members and 10 aides spent $42,966 on food lodging and incidentals but no transportation Cost was Given. O Neill s other trip was to Ireland from March 13 to March 18 dates that put the 10 members and seven aides in the speaker s ancestral Homeland Forst. Patrick s Day. Most of these travellers have Irish surnames and most of the members along Are known As Clos friends of o Neill. The delegation met with lop govern ment officials including prime minister Garret Fitzgerald and opposition Leader Charles Haughey. O Neill was the guest of Honor at the lord mayor s Parade inthe City of Cork and the delegation at tended the annual St. Patrick s Day Parade in Dublin. The total Cost of the five Day sojourning the Emerald Isle was $118,331. In this Case o Neill reported the transportation costs $ 106,6 51. The slow moving  arms control talks in Switzerland Drew a Large group of congressional observers last year. The Senate which would vote on any treaty coming out of the negotiations spent $79,741 sending people to Geneva. The House which does t vote on trea ties spent $73,857 All of it in three Days by a group of eight members and five aides needed by majority Leader Jim Wright. A Texas. Another popular destination in 1985,As it has. Been m past years was the Paris air show where the aircraft Industry displays its wares. The House armed american group visits athens9 Airport Harbor for Security inspection Athens Greece a a . Con Gressional team wrapped up an inspection of greek Airport and Harbor Security Over the weekend As the government continued efforts to Rebuff charges that it was soft on terrorism. The wee Uong visit by six congressional staff members who Are evaluating International transport safety for the House foreign affairs committee came amid signs that Premier Andreas Papandreou was modifying Bis Maverick stance on International terrorism. Greece last week announced that Libya was reducing its 56-person Diplo Matic Mission Here by one third a move diplomats said May help the socialist government quash charges that it is Hin Dering Western counter terrorism efforts. Filing its close lies with the Arab world and insufficient proof of libyan involvement in terrorism Greece stood alone in april by refusing to take Diplo Matic sanctions against Libya but now Greece is seeking the support of its 11 european economic Community partners in resolving the Cyprus Dis Pute and blocking normalization of dec relations with Turkey. It also wants tease american fears about travelling Here. After american jets bombed Libya on april is Papandreou criticized . Coun Ter terrorism tactics and defended palestini an violence As part Ofa National liberation struggle. For a  but the greek Premier modified his position last month after the , stat department labelled the comments baseless and unhelpful and he received a protest letter from Secretary of state George p. Shultz. In a reply to Sti Liz Papandreou said acts of violence commuted by liberation movements outside territories they Are fighting for could be considered terrorist acts1 and cannot be justified by in greek  Greece has patched up relations with the United states recently partly in a attempt to revive its Younst Industry devastated by the tension Over Libya and a bomb explosion on a Rome Athens Twa flight in april. National Economy undersecretary Panayiotis Roumeliotis said last wee thai visit from americans Are expected to fall by 50 to 60 percent this year to around 200,000. The government has spent More than $600,000 beefing up Security at Athens in tem Lional Airport site of two hijackings last year adding two 9-fool-Lalt perimeter barriers eight guard lower staffed around the Dock and a new charter terminal. Athens Airport Security has been praised in recent months by the is. Federal aviation administration and the International air transport association. During their inspection the , con Gressional staffers went through passenger Check in and boarding procedures which now include As Many As five body and lug Gage searches the Airport official said. The congressional team also visited the services and science and technology committees took european rips that ended in Paris for the show. The total Bill for the 18 members and 12 aides on these trips was slightly More than $200,000. Overall in 1985, there were 426 for eign trips taken by members of Congress. The House accounted for 347 of them with 262 representatives travelling abroad. Forty three senators took a local of 79 trips. Travel approved by the House leadership Cost at least $471,014, with the Senate leaders authorizing travel amounting to at least $255,012. Committees accounted for the bulk of the rest of the travel Bill. In the Senate the top spenders were foreign relations $123,604 judiciary 139,814 appropriation$34,643 and Commerce $30,765. The House foreign affairs committee topped All spenders with $892,395. Other House committee travel Bills were armed services,$494,717 appropriations $488,583 ways and Means $366,500 science an technology $219,127 and agriculture $158,674. Also getting into the travel act were committees that have basically Domestic Issue responsibilities. House govern ment operations spent $93,383, while House Interior spent $100,321 j90.2e5 on a trip to Japan the soviet Union and Ireland by six members and nine aides. Three of the six members Are non voting delegates from . Posses Sions. The most popular destination in 1985 was Germany with 74 congressional vis its. Switzerland had 67 Italy 62 France 61 the soviet Union 51 Ireland 37 is Rael 30 Spain 28 China 27 England 25 and Brazil 24. Except for Central America the third world Drew Only a Small fraction of the i Ravel. Barbados however was visited by 11 House members. After Stevens the Senate s most trav eled members last year were James Mcclure a Idaho and Ted Kennedy p mass., each with five trips. Mcclure visited Canada England France twice Italy South Korea , Japan Taiwan Hong Kong and China. Kennedy went to South Africa Ethiopia and Sudan and three limes to Switzerland. In the House two californian logged five trips each Democrat Mervyn by Mally a member of the foreign affair committee visited live nations including Barbados Republican Robert bad Ham a member of armed services visited 15 countries. Five other representatives had four trips each. One of them. Foreign affairs member Stephen Solan d-n.y., was on he Road for 58 Days visiting Panama Cosla Rica Al Salvador Nicaragua Honduras Micronesia the Philippines the soviet Union Hungary France South Africa Mozambique Zimbabwe Zambia Kenya Nigeria Zaire Angol and Turkey. Rep. Bernard Owyer d-n.j., was bus yearly in the year As a member of appropriations. From Jan. 22 through Jan. 31, he was in Portugal Germany and Brit Ain. On feb. 8, he started an 11-Day trip to France Sudan South Africa Zaire and Senegal. Porting a drop american passengers this summer. Extra extra Capitol closed of Pinna a newspaper boy stands in front of the locked doors of he stole capital in election fraud in Chihuahua stale. The main apposition party Nick jul a Chihuahua Mexico. Protesters placed lion party set up urns across the state the sign closed for failure to respect sunday urging Resl Delithe vote on the door after claims of residents to dump to dlr voter registration carts in protest