Some Lawmakers Fly First-Class at Taxpayer Expense

When members of California’s congressional delegation fly home from the Capitol, as they did to kick off a 20-day spring break late last week, most charge taxpayers just the low government rate--$199 round-trip to Los Angeles and about $500 to San Francisco.

But some choose to spend more of the public’s money.

About a dozen lawmakers routinely use government funds for upgrades or first-class tickets, racking up a bill of at least $270,000 over the past five years, according to a Times review of House of Representatives records.

The legislators say the roomier seats in a quieter cabin allow them to relax or review paperwork during the lengthy cross-country commute many make dozens of times each year.

Other House members--and California’s two senators--said they use frequent-flier miles or free coupons for upgrades, pay for the perk out of their own pocket or simply sit in coach because they do not consider their own comfort a legitimate government expense.

“It’s very easy for members of Congress, with their generous salaries and their lavish perks, to forget the commonplace economic trials and indignities that the rest of us Americans have to cope with on a daily basis,” said Gary Ruskin of the Congressional Accountability Project, a Washington-based watchdog group. “When it comes to perks, this is not the largest one . . . but the bottom line is this is taxpayers’ money, and it’s a waste of it.”

Overall, 15 of the state’s 52 House members in the 105th Congress--12 Democrats and three Republicans--flew first class or listed upgrades in their expense reports from 1993 to 1997, though some described them vaguely as “member’s travel certificates” or “additional air fare expense.” Other legislators may have charged taxpayers for upgrades but lumped it in with their air fare, making it impossible to discern from the records.

Congressional observers say most lawmakers do not upgrade at public expense; The Times reviewed only records for the Californians, whose commute is among the most challenging.

Each congressional office gets a set budget--determined in part by a district’s distance from Washington--covering travel, mailings, staff salaries and office supplies, and members have broad discretion over how to spend it. Any leftover money is returned to the treasury.

By far the biggest spender per trip was Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Oakland), who quit Congress in February after 27 years. Dellums booked first-class tickets directly at a price of up to $3,165 round-trip, about six times the government rate. A cheaper route would have been to buy coach tickets and upgrades, which cost from $25 to $200 a flight and bump passengers from coach to business or first class if there is room.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills) never pays the first-class fare, but uses government money to buy upgrades for virtually all of his frequent trips home, spending at least $26,412.59 for upgrades since 1993.

“We’re talking about something that costs about $250 total [per trip],” Berman said. “To me, it’s not worth a story.”

Besides Dellums, only Rep. Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles) repeatedly paid full first-class fares, and he stopped doing so several years ago because of “snarls” from the news media, he said. In 1993, Dixon flew 14 times at $2,000 or more a trip, then switched to using the government rate plus upgrades--which cost about $500 round trip--for four more flights that year. Since then, Dixon used his congressional budget to pay for $9,995.60 in upgrades for 55 trips, the records show.

“It’s a comfort thing,” he said.

“I avoid coach any way I can,” said Rep. Pete Stark (D-Hayward), who has upgraded about 10 times a year since 1993 for a total of $11,752.50. “If I walked, it would save the government money, but I don’t.”

Other current members who used their congressional budgets for upgrades or first-class travel, according to the records, are Gary A. Condit (D-Ceres), who upgraded on at least 29 trips for $4,695; Anna G. Eshoo (D-Atherton), four trips, $740; Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), 11 trips, $1,640; Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park), 39 trips, $8,234; and Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Carson), six trips, $1,080.

Also, George Miller (D-Martinez), 78 trips, $13,280; George P. Radanovich (R-Mariposa), eight trips, $938; William M. Thomas (R-Bakersfield), 14 trips, cost unclear because of reporting methods; Esteban Edward Torres (D-Pico Rivera), one trip, $640; and Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), 13 trips, $2,019.08.

Sonny Bono (R-Palm Springs), who died in January, occasionally charged the public for upgrades or first-class tickets, including 10 trips at a cost of $1,380 in 1995.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Torrance), a gubernatorial candidate, tapped her office account for 23 upgrades during her first term, which began in 1993. She then wrote personal checks for $2,370 in 1994 to reimburse the treasury, saying an aide mistakenly charged the government.

Harman would not be interviewed on the subject, but her campaign spokesman, Kam Kuwata, said she now uses mileage points for upgrades.

“Everybody handles their office accounts differently,” Kuwata said. “She’s not saying it’s illegal or unethical or anything, she just preferred not to” use public funds.

All told, California’s 52 House members spent $1.3 million on travel last year and $1.2 million in 1996, according to disbursement records. That includes trips by politicians and their aides, plus rental cars, hotel rooms, meals and even newspapers while on the road. Travel totals for the senators were not available.

The House has few rules governing business travel; nobody tells members whether to fly coach, business or first class, or how often to go home. The only restriction is that lawmakers can accept only perks available to the public--free upgrades, for example, based on the miles they log.

Unlike other branches of government, including the Senate, members are allowed to use frequent-flier miles accumulated on business trips any way they like--not just for other government-related travel. Many legislators trade in miles for tickets for their spouses or children, whose travel is not covered by the government.

Why not use the miles for upgrades?

“I could use miles. I could also use my personal miles,” Berman acknowledged. How does he spend the miles he accumulates? “That’s like asking what I use my money for.”

Aides to Dellums, who are still running the office pending an election to replace him, gave height as an explanation for his purchase of first-class tickets, saying he has trouble folding his 6-foot-5 frame into coach seats. (San Dimas Republican Rep. David Dreier, 6-foot-2, does not list upgrades among his office expenses.)

Maxine Grant, an aide to Martinez, said spending public money on upgrades “just seemed like the thing to do” so her boss could get more work done. Miller spokesman Dan Weiss said the upgrades “make it a less arduous flight.”

Few quibble with the notion that business- or first-class travel is more conducive to rest and productivity, though Republican Rep. Chris Cox of Newport Beach, who broke his back in a 1978 Jeep accident, insists he finds coach more comfortable.

But most of the delegation finds another way to get there.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) uses upgrades “whenever they’re available, but she pays for them herself,” said Feinstein spokeswoman Susan Kennedy.

David Sandretti, press secretary to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), said his boss flies back and forth from Washington as much as once a week, and she likes first-class because she can accomplish more work on these trips. But she trades in miles or pays for the upgrades herself. “She just prefers to operate that way,” Sandretti said.

One House member, noting that airlines often bump frequent travelers to the pricier seats for free, called the notion of using public funds for upgrades “astonishing.”

“I never pay for upgrades because that’s unnecessary,” said the lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Lofgren, elected in 1994, said she flew coach during her first term, but found the frequent flights so “brutal” that she considered quitting. She says she now buys the upgrades, reluctantly, to ease that stress.

“There’s nothing wrong or illegal with this, but I prefer using miles,” Lofgren said. “I just feel better about it.”

Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), who has not billed taxpayers for any upgrades in the past five years, said he appreciates the cushy seats when he has coupons, but doesn’t think upgrades are the best use of government funds.

“As long as there’s a seat there for me, I’m fine,” said Becerra, whose first trip on a plane was after he finished college. “It’s a tight enough budget as it is. We barely have enough to send out the mail we need to and take care of other expenses.”

Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers’ Union, a conservative lobbying group, said the upgrades show that, although publicity led to the demise of the House barbershop and office delivery of ice and firewood, “the perk structure remains largely intact.”

“We’ve heard a lot of rhetoric about a more streamlined Congress and we’ve gotten only partial results--there’s still plenty of room for downsizing,” Sepp said.

“No one’s saying they can’t upgrade, but maybe they should do it with their own cash,” he added. “Taxpayer generosity has its limits.”

Times researcher Tricia Ford and staff writers Dave Lesher and Tom Schultz contributed to this story.

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Top Spenders

Fifteen members of California’s House delegation have spent a total of at least $270,000 in public funds on upgrades and first-class plane tickets for cross-country commutes since 1993. The top spenders:

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MEMBER TRIPS COST 1.Ronald V. Dellums (D-Oakland) 50 $122,530 2.Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles) 73 $36,696 3.Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills) 190 $26,413 4.George Miller (D-Martinez) 78 $13,280 5.Pete Stark (D-Hayward) 49 $11,753 6.Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park) 39 $8,234

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NOTE: Dellums, who retired in February, booked first-class tickets directly instead of buying a cheaper government-rate ticket and then purchasing upgrades. Dixon did that 14 times in 1993, so his total is a combination of first-class tickets and upgrades. For others, only the amount of the upgrade, not the underlying government-rate coach fare, is included. Amounts are rounded to nearest dollar.

SOURCE: Statement of Disbursements of the House

Researched by JODI WILGOREN and TRICIA FORD / Los Angeles Times