Font ResizeWashington » Utah's newest congressman, Jason Chaffetz, test drove an armored vehicle in Iraq, played pingpong with airmen in Afghanistan, toured the prison at Guantanamo Bay and met with the chancellor of Germany.
That's just in his first six months in office. His next destination? He takes off for Israel in a few weeks.
It's not uncommon for federal lawmakers to travel the world, either as part of an official congressional delegation, known as a CODEL, or on a trip paid for by an outside group. But Chaffetz is collecting frequent flyer miles at a much faster pace than any other member of Utah's five-man federal delegation.
"I felt that one of my weaknesses was foreign policy, so I made a concerted effort in the first six months to get out and see everything I could," he said. "There's no substitute to go out and be there and see it."
Chaffetz and Sen. Bob Bennett seem to have a similar philosophy. Since 2007, Bennett has taken official congressional trips to India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Switzerland, Canada, France, Austria, Britain and Belgium (twice).
That second Belgium visit took place in March when he attended the Brussels Forum, an annual gathering of North American and European business and government leaders. At that event, Bennett explained why he likes to go on the road, recalling advice he received from former President Richard Nixon shortly after being elected to the
"Among the other things he said to us was, 'You cannot do your job as a senator if you don't travel. There's no substitute for being on the ground and meeting people on their own home territory to get an understanding of what is going on.' "
The former president also warned the new politicos that they would likely face criticism for spending time overseas.
"In the process of traveling, you begin to understand which groups are worth going to and which groups you can be too busy to go back to," Bennett said.
The Aspen Institute appears to be one group that Bennett favors. Since 2007, the international nonprofit has spent more than $40,000 to send Bennett and his wife to Paris, Rome and Berlin. The trips were for forums on Islam and U.S. relations with Russia.
The only international travel Bennett accepted from a Utah-based group took place in 2004, when the Utah Automobile Dealers Association paid for him to attend and speak at their annual conference, which that year was held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
New ethics rules put in place a few years ago would most likely prohibit this Mexico trip because the dealers association lobbies government. But the ethics committee has OK'd travel with the Aspen Institute.
Bennett spokeswoman Tara Hendershott said the senator tries to pick trips that dovetail with his committee assignments. Last year he went to Britain, France and Austria to tour nuclear recycling plants in preparation for his new role as the ranking Republican member on the appropriations subcommittee on energy and water.
But other federal lawmakers from Utah, namely Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Jim Matheson, are much less frequent travelers.
Hatch, who has been in office for 32 years, hasn't gone overseas since a quick trip to Iraq in 2006 and then again in 2007, when he also made a stop in Jordan to take part in a World Economic Forum.
Hatch has little love for these trips, but he still calls them "valuable tools" to bolster relations with allies and understand the impacts of U.S. policies.
"Nonetheless, I use CODELs sparingly, always mindful of the necessity to avoid wasting taxpayer funding," he said.
Matheson, too, is something of a homebody.
His last trip was to Colombia in early 2008 as part of a group working on an ill-fated trade agreement. In previous years, he has accepted trips to Germany and Australia funded by outside groups.
Rep. Rob Bishop doesn't travel broadly, but he does have a favorite destination.
He takes an unofficial trip every other year to Germany, where he served his Mormon mission and is fluent in the language. But he has only participated in one international CODEL since joining the House in 2003, and that was a year and a half ago when he went to Israel, Jordan and India, said Scott Parker, his chief of staff.
His trips to Germany are funded through outside groups, such as the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress. The Former Members organization has what it calls the Congressional Study Group on Germany, which Bishop previously led. So far in 2009, he has traveled twice to Berlin, including a five-day excursion at the end of May.
Chaffetz was among the other members of Congress who accompanied Bishop on that trip, taking his son Max with him. And Chaffetz's wife Julie plans to tag along on a weeklong trip to Israel in early August, funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Chaffetz's other two trips have been with the military, including one in April where he went first to Iraq and then Afghanistan, meeting with generals and chatting with troops. He is the only House member from Utah to go to either war zone. He came back buoyed by what he saw in Iraq, but unsure of the nation's strategy in Afghanistan. He doesn't believe it is wise to spend large amounts of money building roads and other improvements in the rugged mountainous country.
While far from a military expert at this stage in his career, Chaffetz believes such travel adds "credibility" to his positions on foreign policy and military affairs. He plans to continue to accept official and privately funded travel.
"I think it is an important part of making sure you are prepared for your job," he said. "It is not a vacation."
