Congress Not Junking Its Junkets, Reports Show : Perks: Despite criticism, House members are still jetting around on the tab of special interests and collecting honorariums.

Despite growing criticism of congressional perks and a newly imposed ban on honorariums, many House members made no effort to scale back on trips to posh resorts and exotic foreign destinations at the expense of special interests in 1991, according to financial disclosure documents made public Thursday.

In addition to the usual all-expenses-paid junkets to such warm-weather havens as Boca Raton, Fla., Palm Springs and Phoenix in 1991, members of Congress also traveled to Kuwait at the expense of Fluor Corp. of Irvine and toured China on a trip sponsored by the government of the People’s Republic.

Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) did more traveling at the expense of others than any of her colleagues in the House. According to her financial disclosure report, she took at least 50 trips, mostly for speaking engagements. But unlike many other well-traveled members, she appeared to shy away from exotic resorts.

Likewise, Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) took at least 46 such trips, including a three-day junket to Bermuda at the expense of the conservative magazine National Review.

Even though House members no longer can pocket honorariums as a result of ethics rules that took effect in January, 1991, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) collected $110,000 in speaking fees, which he gave to undisclosed charities. The total was a sharp cutback from the $310,000 in honorariums he collected in 1990.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), another big recipient of honorariums in the past, accepted only $21,250 in 1991, also passing it along to charities.

But the end of honorariums clearly did not discourage House members from accepting free trips from the same special interest groups that previously paid them appearance fees. Although trips for members of Congress sponsored by special interests now are limited somewhat by 1989 amendments to the ethics rules, they are still permitted.

Many members of Congress reported attending industry gatherings, including the National Assn. of Broadcasters in Las Vegas, the American Bankers Assn. in Palm Beach, Fla., the National Cable Television Assn. in New Orleans and the Tobacco Institute in Palm Springs.

In most cases, House members spent at least three days at resorts, usually accompanied by family members. Industry groups usually paid for all travel expenses, lodging, entertainment costs and incidentals.

Those House members with the most enticing travel itineraries were members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over a wide range of industries and financial institutions.

One committee member, Rep. Matthew J. Rinaldo (R-N.J.), made no fewer than seven trips to Florida with United States Telephone, Home Shopping Network, the Futures Industry Assn., Florida Power & Light, Dun & Bradstreet and the Securities Industry Assn. paying his bills.

Rep. Bob Carr (D-Mich.) took 14 such trips, all with his wife, including a four-day stay in Hawaii at the expense of the Associated General Contractors and a three-day stay in Brussels paid for by the Airport Operators Council International.

Defense contractors often joined together to fund trips for members of the House Armed Services Committee. Rep. Richard Ray (D-Ga.), for example, allowed Martin Marietta to fly him from Washington to Orlando with his wife, and then on to West Palm Beach. Pratt & Whitney picked up Ray’s return fare from West Palm Beach.

Among those who traveled to Kuwait at the expense of Fluor were Reps. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), Californian Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), Chalmers P. Wylie (R-Ohio) and Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.). Fluor paid $2,724 for the air fare of each member of Congress who traveled aboard its plane.

Reps. Butler Derrick (D-S.C.), Jack Fields (R-Tex.), Arthur Ravenel Jr. (R-S.C.), Michael R. McNulty (D-N.Y), Bill Goodling (R-Pa.) and Mervin M. Dymally (D-Compton) were among those who went to China.