A Congressman Goes to Brazil
Massachusetts congressman Michael E. Capuano is taking heat for accepting an all-expense paid trip to Brazil, paid for by a nonprofit business organization, that cost $19, 403.
According to the Boston Globe, the trip was paid for by a group called the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, which is funded by big business.
(But don't expect to find that out on its website; if you click on the link that says "Funding," you get this — "The requested URL /mission.htm. was not found on this server."—which is the web equivalent of a middle finger.)
Capuano, a Democrat*, was accompanied by lobbyists on every stage of the trip, from Sao Paulo to Brasilia to Rio.
Asked if that was a problem, David M. Klaus, executive director of the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, answered, "'We have an unofficial rule that you leave your lobbying hat at the door."
Don't you just love it when people say things that are so blatantly false, you wonder if they're not kind of giggling when they say it?
Capuano was also accompanied by his wife, which was probably a good thing for his marriage—trust me, I've been to
Brazil—but, ethically speaking, seems a bit problematic.
When asked about the substantial price of the trip—essentially a $20, 000 bribe—Capuano told Globe reporter Michael Kanish, ''My reaction was the same as yours: What the heck cost so much?"
Capuano added that he was surprised that his business-class airline seats were so expensive. ''I had no clue," he said. ''I didn't pay for it."
Well...yes. That's the point.
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* Thanks to those who pointed out that Capuano is a Democrat and not a Republican, as I had originally posted.
