Thread: Report Shows Dole RARELY Visits North Carolina

This article can be found at www.journalnow.com:



Old Home State
Dole visits in N.C. far less than Burr, records indicate
By Mary M. Shaffrey
JOURNAL WASHINGTON BUREAU
Monday, December 12, 2005


WASHINGTON - North Carolina's senators belong to the same political party and often vote the same way. But when it comes to time spent in the state, they appear to have different priorities.

According to the Report to the Secretary of the Senate, an expense report issued twice a year that details expenses by Senate offices, Dole made one trip to North Carolina during a six-month period, and Burr traveled home nearly every weekend.

Though the report tracks only spending of public money on Senate members' official travel, it raises questions about how much time Dole spends in the state - and how much time senators should spend at home.

Dole grew up in Salisbury but has spent most of her career in Washington. As she campaigned in 2002 for the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Jesse Helms, Dole had to confront questions about her outsider status.

Dole's office said that the report, commonly called the "Green Book," is not an accurate depiction of the senator's travels to the state. A spokeswoman noted that several public events were not listed, including visits to Charlotte, Elon University and Fort Bragg. According to various public accounts, Dole made five official trips to the state from April 1 through Sept. 30. The trips were of varying lengths, ranging from a few hours to a few days.

The only trip listed for Dole in the Senate report, however, was an overnight visit in early August. Dole chartered a plane, at a cost of $1,348, which took her from Washington to Charlotte and Morganton, and then back to Washington. During this trip, Dole visited six places in the state, and presented checks worth more than $6 million in federal assistance to various programs.

Lindsay Mabry, a spokeswoman for Dole, would not say how many trips Dole has made to the state, other than the five official visits documented. She said that Dole sometimes makes trips that are not open to the press, and if the trip is not for official business, she pays her own way.

As for why the four other official trips were not included in the Senate report, Mabry suggested that the paperwork for the trips had not been processed.

The report covers the second half of the 2005 fiscal year (April 1 through Sept. 30), and is required by law.

The process by which senators and their staffs are reimbursed is bureaucratic, and sometimes it takes months to receive payment for expenditures.

An expense is not reported in the Green Book until it has been paid back to the individual billed.

There are specific rules and guidelines for what can be expensed. For example, a Senate office can pay for the cell phone of a staff member, but it cannot buy a coffee maker for the office.

When Dole ran for the Senate in 2002, some worried that she would spend time on national issues to the exclusion of her own state.

Dole actively worked to dispel that concern, saying she wanted to be "North Carolina's senator."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., faced similar questions when she ran for Senate in her adopted home state in 2000. But according to the Senate report, Clinton visited her state much more often during the same six-month period, making at least 18 trips - many of them day trips - between April 1 and Sept. 30.

Some Republicans have quietly criticized Dole for not being visible enough in the state. But others say that her regular presence in North Carolina means less than whether she can bring home federal money for the state and represent her constituents' interests by how she votes.

"I have not heard anyone complain that she is not back enough," said Bill Peaslee, the chief of staff for the N.C. Republican Party. "She is doing a fine job."

Supporters point to her work on the federal tobacco-quota buyout last year and the positive results from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which preserved most of North Carolina's military installations. Her main responsibility, they say, is to cast Senate votes that are in the best interest of North Carolina.

But Democrats argue that Dole is focusing too much attention on her other responsibilities, notably her work as the chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. It's her job to recruit candidates for the Senate.

"As head of the National Republican Senate Committee, its clear that Elizabeth Dole's priorities are to help the Republicans on a national level and not North Carolinians," said Jerry Meek, the chairman of the N.C. Democratic Party.

"It's hard to understand what the people of North Carolina want without spending a lot of time here," he said.

By comparison, her counterpart at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., made at least 16 trips back to his state between April and September.

During an interview in October, Dole admitted that the role has kept her away from home more than she would like. But she said that the state benefits because she can gain attention for North Carolina issues during weekly leadership meetings.

Burr's expense report to the Senate secretary also contains some discrepancies. For example, he is listed as going to North Carolina every weekend from April 2 through July 23, but there are no trips listed after a July 25 flight from Greensboro to Washington.

Other than his congressional trip to Iraq in mid-August, Burr's office said he had been home nearly every weekend since late July.

Burr spokesman Doug Heye said that the senator sometimes drives himself home, and may have done so during the month-long August recess. That would explain the absence of an expense report for airplane travel to North Carolina.

Heye also referred to the lack of travel records for September on the length of time it takes to process expense reports.

Of course, none of this should surprise any of us but get this:

The only trip listed for Dole in the Senate report, however, was an overnight visit in early August. Dole chartered a plane, at a cost of $1,348, which took her from Washington to Charlotte and Morganton, and then back to Washington. During this trip, Dole visited six places in the state, and presented checks worth more than $6 million in federal assistance to various programs.

WE paid for the FOOL to CHARTER a plane. Why could SHE not do what everyone else does and fly on a commercial flight???

Let her stay in Washington. She doesn't care anything about the people of NC anyway. Her voting records proves that!

I emailed her yesterday Bootsie. I sent the same email to 5/6 of her hot topics hoping somebody would read it at least one time.

THAT is a GREAT IDEA, had_enuf!! NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT!! I LOVE it. I will start doing the same thing!! Maybe SOMETHING will get her attention though I seriously doubt it. WHAT a STUPID THING WE DID when we elected THAT ONE.