The same lawmakers who have spent the last quarter criticizing companies' corporate meetings and retreats have been called out for planning and partaking in similar events, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In an article published this week, the Journal points out that House Republicans attended a corporate retreat earlier this month at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va., an 18th-century mountain spa that offers activities such as golf, skiing, skeet shooting and falconry. Democrats, meanwhile, held a two-day issues conference this month at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Va.
"Our issues conference, especially this year, was a very serious working session," Democratic Caucus spokesperson Emily Barocas told the Journal.
Although the Republican meeting at the Homestead was paid for by the lawmakers themselves—who footed the bill for their own travel and lodging—staffers' bills were paid by lobbyists. The Democrats' meeting, meanwhile, was paid for in part with taxpayer money, as the meeting was partially funded with money appropriated for congressional office expenses, reports the Journal.
Other meetings and events attended recently by federal lawmakers include an energy conference this month at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C., which was attended by several prominent Democrats, and a November trip to Amsterdam that included four Republicans and four Democrats who partook in a "policy exchange" with their European counterparts.
Although both events were organized by nonprofits—federal regulations forbid lobbyists from directly paying for lawmakers' travel and meals—those organizations have been backed by the same lobbyists who are forbidden from funding lawmakers' retreats.
According to the Journal, several more meetings and events are already on the calendar for members of Congress, who will hold two fund-raisers this month in Florida, Democrats at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla., and Republicans at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.