wifeisafurd said:
BearNIt said:
wifeisafurd said:
Let the indignation just roll... Why should any country allow any Congress people in unless it is good for PR purposes?
And what value do all these Congressional junkets really provide?A Closer Look at Congressional Foreign Travel http://www.lawfareblog.com/closer-look-congressional-foreign-travel
Lets say you are a U.S. Congressman sitting on the Foreign Relations Committee and in keeping with the goals of the U.S. Ambassador, Military, and President, you are trying to prevent the threat of terrorist in a country with a large population that lives in poverty and is ripe for indoctrination of a radical ideology, you may want to visit that country to have an understanding of the government, the military, talk to civilian groups, and get an idea of where they need help, all before voting to give them billions of dollars. You do this so next time you come up for election a challenger doesn't get to use your vote against you as a supporter of the next Hitler.
You could use the trip to seek out additional markets for you constituents who are comprised of farmers, manufacturers, or tech companies, because if you are successful you may see increases in employment and GDP with regard to your state.
Some of these Congressional junkets allow the U.S. to use soft diplomacy and spread the gospel of democracy rather than having to buy bullets, other military hardware, and mobilizing hundreds of thousand men and women to fight a war that doesn't end for decades.
If you are a country that receives millions or billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid or a civilian group pushing for democracy, talking to U.S. Congresspersons could benefit your country or your movement.
So you really didn't read the article.
All those guys and gals with the 30 plus trips - only one of them on the foreign relations committee. How many the top 20 of trip takers... the same one guy. And in terms of the 600 junkets paid for by taxpayers, these 20 have most of them. And a good portion of those trips are to places we want to tourists want to visit. Seeing many terrorist threats from the UK or Canada? Essentially all the visited countries are democracies, and really don't need soft selling, or even a hard sell unless you are trying to get rid of the Windsors. If this was aimed at the Ruskies, you realize there was only 1 trip in 6 years. You see of those really desperate, poor countries on that list of most visited? All aboard to Burundi, Niger, Liberia... I don't think so. Maybe you justify something on improving trade, but we are talking Congress people with little impact the truth be told (maybe senior congressional leaders do, but most of them stay home and work).
But none of this speaks to the really big problem. Private funded trips. The most visited countries by far are Israel and Turkey. Is it because of all those wonderful tourist sites that make them among the popular destinations in the world? Maybe. But "with nearly 1,400 visits from 2011 to 2016, Israel easily led the way and accounted for nearly a third of all of the 4,400 trips that occurred within the reporting period. Turkey was also quite high with roughly 750 visits, but other countries trailed far behind." The article that shows you the agencies these counties have to fund congressional trips. Any would they do that? "...[L]egislators and staff are more likely to return to the United States with greater sympathy for the policies advanced by the governments of host countries. The implication is that many members of Congress may now be particularly knowledgeable about and sympathetic toward Israel and Turkey, not necessarily because of constituent preferences or abstract ideas about the importance of U.S. relations with those countries, but at least partly because of the travel itself, which has placed members and staff in close contact with government officials, the public, and economic and political conditions in Israel and Turkey."
So yes, this is one big PR show with benefits to congress who visit a lot of nice bucket list locations. But you knew that, since as you put it: "If you are a country that receives millions or billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid [sorry, I deleted the democracy stuff since as not reflected in the numbers] talking to U.S. Congresspersons could benefit your country." Oh f@ck yes, it sure does. So tell me why this is in the taxpayer's or our country's interest again?
Access to markets that weren't tapped or to maintain those markets?
The U.S. goods exports to Turkey in 2018 were $10.2 billion, up 4.6% ($453 million) from 2017 and up 2.4% from 2008.
The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2018 were: aircraft ($2.1 billion), mineral fuels ($1.2 billion), iron and steel ($1.1 billion), machinery ($753 million), and cotton ($685 million).
The U.S. total exports of agricultural products to Turkey totaled $1.4 billion in 2018. Leading domestic export categories include: cotton ($682 million), tree nuts ($279 million), distillers grains ($191 million), soybeans ($79 million), and poultry meat & prods. (ex. eggs) ($43 million).
In 2018, U.S. exports were over $13.7 billion, causing Israel to be the 22nd largest export destination. Main U.S. exports to Israel include miscellaneous manufactured commodities, transportation equipment , computer and electronic products and non-electrical machinery.
Israel California Trade
In 2018, California exported $1.7 billion to Israel, making it the state's 18th largest export destination. Miscellaneous manufactured commodities is the largest export category for California, with over $773 million, representing 44.5 percent of all exports to Israel.
Other major export categories to Israel include computer and electronic products, machinery (except electrical), and agricultural products, totaling 19, 11.8, and 5.5 percent of all export commodities respectively.
If the California delegation were able to secure or maintain relationships that foster the export or California goods at $1.7 billion then they should go visit Israeli or Europe. That money generates jobs and taxes that are collected.
If they don't go then maybe another country or state gets that $1.7 billion. Rather have it in California.
The U.S. goods exports to Liberia in 2018 were $217 million, up 56.9% ($79 million) from 2017 and up 38.6% from 2008.
The U.S. goods trade surplus with Liberia was $156 million in 2018, a 229.8% increase ($108 million) over 2017.
The U.S. goods exports to Niger in 2018 were $62 million, up 40.0% ($18 million) from 2017 and up 23.4% from 2008.
The top export categories for Niger in 2018 were: aircraft ($36 million), electrical machinery ($8 million), machinery ($6 million), plastics ($3 million), and vehicles ($2 million).
Those increases didn't magically happen, relationships had to be establish and that entails a face to face visit in most cases. May not seem like a lot, but in a state or community where a business is laying off people, a contract secured with the help of a Congressional rep would be important and could be a lifeline to a manufacturer, the state, and the community.
Visits also allow the U.S. to establish and maintain relationships that could be of use in the future as the U.S. tries to accomplish its goals throughout the world. Specifically the U.S. is concerned about China in Africa and their extraction of raw material needed for technology. Having relationships with various countries allows the U.S. to exert some influence when China seeks to engage those countries for extraction of their raw materials. This is the practice of soft diplomacy.
Also, look at U.S. FDI.
All the above benefits the U.S., states, and communities economically when Congressional Reps visit other countries even if some are tourist destinations, and that's why trips are taken, even those paid for by private entities and by the taxpayer. Like everything some will abuse this and should be called out. Those that bring home contracts and benefits to the U.S. should be acknowledged.
Some of the places visited even hold a strategic importance.