ELECTIONS FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES : Congressmen Accept Trips and $161,750 in Honorariums

San Fernando Valley-area lawmakers received a total of $161,750 in honorariums from special interest groups in 1989 and accepted expense-paid trips to such destinations as Tokyo and Mexico City, according to annual financial disclosure reports made public Tuesday.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) led the way with $60,300 in speaking fees, followed by Reps. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), $31,000; William M. Thomas (R-Bakersfield), $28,500; Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), $22,700, and Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), $19,250.

Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) accepted no honorariums or trips funded by special interest groups.

Faced with growing criticism that special interests were buying influence with honorariums, the House voted to prohibit the appearance fees, beginning in January, 1991, as part of a pay-raise measure passed last fall. The Senate has not adopted such a ban.

Current House rules permit a lawmaker to retain a maximum of $26,850 in honorariums annually. Waxman kept $26,808, gave another $31,296 to charity and used $2,196 to cover unreimbursed expenses incurred while earning the appearance fees. Lewis gave $4,500 of his fees to charity and pocketed $26,500.

In many instances, the interests of the group providing the honorarium corresponded to the lawmaker’s committee assignments and legislative influence.

Waxman, chairman of a House subcommittee on health and the environment, received most of his fees from health industry associations. This included $5,000 each from the American Health Care Assn., Merck Pharmaceutical, the National Council on Prescription Drugs and the American Veterinary Medical Assn. He also got $4,000 from the Illinois Hospital Assn.

Lewis, a member of the House Republican leadership who sits on the Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, export financing and related programs, received $2,000 each from the Tobacco Institute, Connell Rice and Sugar, the International Sweetener Colloquium and the National Beer Wholesalers Assn.

Lewis, whose 35th District includes part of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, also accepted transportation, food or lodging for 11 trips, including a weeklong sojourn to San Diego and Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico, to meet with business and government leaders. The tab was picked up by the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, a business-funded nonprofit organization in Arlington, Va., that seeks to educate lawmakers on trade issues.

Thomas, whose 20th District includes Lancaster and the northern Antelope Valley, sits on the Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax legislation. His honorariums included $2,000 each from the Securities Industry Assn., Mobil Corp., the National Assn. of Real Estate Investment Trusts and the Employees Council on Flexible Compensation.

Berman, who is involved with communications issues on the House Judiciary Committee, received $2,000 from the California Cable TV Assn., $1,500 from the National Cable TV Assn. and $1,500 from the National Assn. of Broadcasters.

A member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Berman also accepted an expense-paid trip to Tokyo from the Japan Society. He attended the U.S.-Japan Parliamentary Exchange Conference, a weeklong meeting of American and Japanese lawmakers to discuss mutual concerns, said Gene Smith, Berman’s administrative assistant.

Moorhead, who is active in cable television regulation as a member of a House subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance, received speaking fees of $1,500 each from the National Cable TV Assn. and the National Assn. of Broadcasters. The veteran lawmaker, who is also a member of a subcommittee on Energy and Power, accepted another $2,000 from the Interstate Natural Gas Assn. and $1,000 from the Keystone Center Energy Project.

Beilenson has long eschewed honorariums, which he has criticized as tantamount to legalized bribery. Gallegly, who had received a small number of speaking fees in previous years, said through a spokesman that he made a decision not to accept any honorariums last year.