Little Change in Flow of Fees to U.S. Senators

Members of the Senate received at least $2.8 million in appearance fees last year, reflecting little change in the flow of special interest money to Congress, despite mounting criticism of the practice.

According to the Senate’s annual financial disclosure reports, which were made public Friday, only 14 of the 95 senators who filed reports earlier this week refused to accept fees for speeches and other appearances. Four of them were elected last November and thus did not serve in the Senate in 1988.

Even though Senate rules prohibit them from keeping any such fees in excess of $35,600 a year, some senators earned more than twice that amount--giving the excess to charities. Most senators do not disclose what charities have received their excess honorariums.

2 Leaders Unchanged

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) was the leading recipient of honorariums in 1988 with $79,025. He was followed by Sens. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) at $72,950 and Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) at $72,050. Lugar and Hollings have been leaders in speaking and appearance fees for most of the last decade.

Unlike campaign contributions, honorariums can go directly into the pockets of members of Congress. In addition, many senators collect these fees while also enjoying all-expenses-paid trips provided by special interest groups for them and their spouses to such popular places as Jamaica; Palm Beach, Fla.; Vail, Colo.; Sun Valley, Ida.; Paris and London.

Financial institutions were a big source of honorariums for senators in 1988, with most of the contributions going to members who would have the biggest roles in legislation affecting the banking industry and in restructuring the beleaguered savings and loan industry.

Variety of Groups

A Times study of the financial disclosure reports found at least $240,000 in honorariums from financial institutions and associations, $185,000 from defense contractors, $100,000 from health organizations, $140,000 from the energy lobby and $238,000 from agribusiness.

Although Senate rules prohibit senators from accepting more than $2,000 for a single appearance, some senators brought in large sums by making multiple appearances before the same special interest groups--sometimes on the same day.

For example, two members of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee--Sens. Timothy E. Wirth (D-Colo.) and Jake Garn (R-Utah)--collected multiple fees from Autranet Inc., a subsidiary of the Wall Street firm of Donaldson, Luftkin and Jenrette. Wirth made two back-to-back speeches for $2,000 each in Vail, Colo., just as he did in 1987. Garn gave three successive speeches in New York for $6,000.

Multiple appearances have become so common that Sen. Donald W. Riegle Jr. (D-Mich.) has created something of a second occupation for himself by making speeches to the Washington Campus, a nonprofit education organization. In 1988, he spoke to the group 22 times for $1,000 each.

Lone Trip, Lots of Speeches

In addition, some senators managed to arrange multiple speaking engagements for themselves in front of a variety of groups on one brief, out-of-town trip.

On a single day in Chicago, for example, Wirth picked up a total of $6,000 from four appearances at the Chicago Board of Options, the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Midwest Stock Exchange. He then pocketed $4,000 the next day in New York City with appearances sponsored by the First Bank of Boston and Morgan Stanley.

Likewise, Sen. J. James Exon (D-Neb.), a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, took a lucrative two-day trip to Los Angeles in December. The cost of the trip was shared by three defense contractors--the Marquardt Co., Northrop Corp. and Rockwell International--and all three companies provided him with $2,000 honorariums for his appearances.

Some out-of-town events staged by special interest groups attract many senators, particularly those at posh resorts. Among the most popular events for senators in 1988 were a four-day junket to Jamaica sponsored by the Aspen Institute and the golf tournament in Sun Valley in late August.

Cheap Way to Travel for Some

For some senators, these trips also provide a cheap way of getting from place to place.

For example, Sen. Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska) and his wife received free air fare to the Republican National Convention in New Orleans last August by making a brief stopover in Memphis, Tenn., where the senator made a $2,000 speech for Federal Express. After the GOP conclave, the Murkowskis flew from New Orleans to Seattle, with the Boeing Co. picking up the tab and providing another $2,000 speaking fee.

It has not been determined how much in honorariums went to the Senate in 1988 because five senators received permission to file their financial disclosure reports late. Nevertheless, the total in speaking and appearance fees received by the 95 senators who have reported for 1988 adds up to $2,713,410. This compares to slightly more than $3 million reported in 1987.

These figures indicate that the honorarium total did not decline significantly in 1988, even though it has become such a highly controversial issue that both the House and Senate considered legislation in January that would have abolished the practice. The proposal to ban honorariums was killed along with a proposed 50% pay raise for members of Congress, the judiciary and the top officials of the executive branch.

Likewise, it is difficult to determine whether the number of senators renouncing honorariums is on the rise. In 1987, 12 senators reported no such fees. The total for 1988 is likely to be 15 when all of the reports are in, because Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), whose report has not yet been filed, traditionally does not accept honorariums. But it is not known whether the four new senators who received no honorariums last year will continue to do so in the future.

Liberals, Conservatives Accept

Clearly, the honorarium is spread liberally across party and ideological lines--even going to members who refuse to accept campaign contributions from special interests.

Sen. David L. Boren (D-Okla.), who often points out that he is one of only three senators who does not accept campaign contributions from political action committees, was the fourth-ranking recipient of honorariums from such groups last year. He collected $69,600, of which $33,800 was donated to charity.

Boren’s press secretary, Ken Levit, said that the senator is “one of the bottom five senators in terms of net worth” and needs the honorariums to help educate two children, one of whom is in college. “If he prepares hours and hours for a speech, and people are offering to pay him for those services, he feels he would be cheating his family by not accepting an honorarium,” he said.

Boren also traveled widely on his speaking engagements. He was reimbursed for expenses, but not paid an honorarium, on his most glamorous jaunt, a five-day stay in Paris with his wife.

Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), a member of the Senate Finance and Agriculture committees, received $7,500 in honorariums from financial groups and $12,750 from agricultural groups. In three instances, the speaking fees were tied to all-expense-paid trips with his wife to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, and to resorts in Puerto Rico and Florida.

Critics charge that trips involving more than one or two nights’ stay are more paid vacations than business excursions and should be curbed. Asked if Daschle had any recreation time on these trips, Press Secretary Mark Ulven replied:

“It depends on what you call recreation time. He’s not much of a golf player. He attends receptions and events. In the case of Brown and Williamson, where he participated in public issue forums, there was no free time involved, other than attending the Derby.”

Under Investigation

Among the financial institutions that participated in the honorarium sweepstakes in 1988 were such organizations under investigation by federal authorities as Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., Columbia Savings & Loan of Los Angeles, the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R-Minn.) was paid a $2,000 honorarium and reimbursed for air fare for a speech he gave to top executives of Drexel Burnham Lambert in Los Angeles. Hollings also received a fee from Drexel. Garn accepted $2,000 from Columbia Savings & Loan to speak in Los Angeles, and Columbia flew him from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles and back for the occasion.

Sen. Alphonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.), a member of the Banking Committee, spent four nights in West Palm Beach, Fla., at the expense of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Times staff writers William J. Eaton, Oswald Johnston and Brian Couturier contributed to this story.