U.S. representatives and their staff have taken at least 17,000 trips since 2012 that were paid for by private parties, many of them nonprofits with deep ties to lobbyists and special interests.
The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
Members of Congress have taken hundreds of AIPAC-funded trips to Israel in the past decade
On June 16, as Benjamin Netanyahu continued his year-long defiance of Joe Biden over the war in Gaza, eight U.S. House members and two staffers arrived at Tel Aviv’s luxurious Kempinski Hotel for a four-day immersion in Israeli politics. The lawmakers and…
Sugar industry pays for House trips to help safeguard subsidies
Groups associated with sugar growers and refiners have spent tens of thousands of dollars for hundreds of U.S. House staff to tour muddy sugar cane fields in Louisiana and Florida and sugar beet factories in Minnesota, according to an analysis of House travel disclosure data from 2012 through 2023 compiled by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland.
Planes, trains and luxury stays: Despite reforms, lobbyists still involved in House travel
Congressional reforms passed nearly 20 years ago were supposed to severely restrict the role of lobbyists in congressional trips. A new investigation shows those reforms aren’t working.
When House members travel the globe on private dime, families often go too
The spouses, children and siblings of U.S. House members are traveling around the world on trips paid for by special interest groups. Critics say the practice amounts to “influence-peddling vacations.’’
Think tanks, often funded by foreign governments, send House members on trips around the world
Private funders paid for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or their staff to travel overseas more than 4,000 times in the past decade. The bill for the vast majority of those trips was footed by nonprofit organizations, including prestigious think tanks that receive foreign government funding.
Georgia requires less basic training for new police officers than any state but Hawaii
Georgia requires fewer hours of basic training for law enforcement officers than any state but Hawaii. With this training, new officers enter unpredictable and dangerous situations where they must make quick decisions under stress.
Georgia mandated training for police on stun gun use, but hasn’t funded it
Jermaine Jones Jr. was one of at least 30 people in Georgia who died during encounters with police that did not involve firearms from 2012 through 2021. In 20 of those cases, officers used stun guns.
How ISIS-K killed Americans, beat the Taliban, and massacred 140 people in Moscow
ISIS-K is too radical for the Taliban, experts say, and is pulling new recruits from disaffected youth in Afghanistan and across Central Asia.
Lethal Restraint: An investigation documenting police use of force
Why did more than 1,000 people die after police subdued them with force that isn’t meant to kill? This three-year investigation by the Associated Press, FRONTLINE (PBS) and The Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland and Arizona State University has answers.