June 28, 2012

The House unanimously adopts Congressman Posey's amendment to the FY 2013 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill to eliminate taxpayer-funded junkets abroad for Department of Transportation bureaucrats. News reports featured the DOT's International Highway Technology Scanning Program and revealed that DOT bureaucrats went on lavish globe-trotting trips under the guise of transportation "research." While the $1.2 million program was suspended last year, there's nothing in law preventing its return. One 17-day venture featured stops at five-star hotels and restaurants across Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. Critical research conducted by the team included an evaluation of "road furniture along rural roads" in Scotland and a review of "outdoor advertising signs in Rotterdam, Netherlands." - June 27, 2012