Election or appointment to federal office means free rides to glitzy talkfests from Honolulu to Paris

According to Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, the U.S. Department of Justice alone "spent at least $312 million over seven years on conference attendance and sponsorship. In 2006, the agency sent 26,000 employees (one fourth of its total workforce) to conferences and spent $46 million in the process."

Just yesterday, my Examiner colleague David Freddoso reported that "a group of 18 major federal agencies that includes Justice spent a combined $2 billion on conferences" in a seven-year period ending in 2007.

David further found that "Department of Defense was the biggest spender at $515 million, but others in the group include the Agriculture Department ($91 million), the Environmental Protection Agency ($104 million), the State Department ($164 million), and the Department of Health and Human Services (at least $349 million)."

And, just as often, congressmen - usually accompanied by admiring retinues of family members and staffers - commandeer Pentagon aircraft to fly them to such exotic locale as Paris, Rome and Peking on "official business." These trips are, of course, better known as "junkets," and they invariably involve comprehensive fact-finding outings to golf courses, swimming pools, and fine dining.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that "spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years ...involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Gal‡pagos Islands."