CODEL: Are Taxpayers Picking up the Tab for Congressional Trips?
In Snake in the Grass (book 3 in The Fina Mendoza Mysteries series) Fina's classmate brags about how she's spending her vacation.
“I’m going to Switzerland,” said Becka. “My mom’s on a CODEL.”
That was short for congressional delegation. It meant a bunch of lawmakers were going somewhere on an official trip. Becka’s mom worked for a senator and got to go where the senator went, but Becka’s mom would have to pay for Becka’s part of the trip.
So why the need for a CODEL - a tradition that continues today?
A Tradition as Old as George Washington
It was a cold, bleak winter at Valley Forge in 1777. Soldiers serving under General George Washington didn't have enough food, clothing, or blankets. Many lacked shoes. Nearly three thousand men were listed as unfit for duty because they had inadequate clothing.
Congress wanted Washington's army to get back to fighting the British. Washington realized Congress had no idea of the wretched conditions and invited a Committee of Conference from Congress so that they could see for themselves the hardships in the encampment.
It worked. After visiting Valley Forge, the Committee convinced Congress to provide the needed supplies, including "comfortable Quarters for the Officers and Soldiers.”
It was the nation's first CODEL.
Who Pays?
It depends.
Congressional rules allow private organizations to sponsor travel, but only when the travel is for official business purposes.
Members are also allowed to accept trips paid for by a foreign government as long as the travel complies with the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (MECEA) or the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act (FGDA).
But usually, it's you and me who pick up the bill.
Do We Get our Money's Worth?
(photo courtesy of Tom Tillis Facebook page)CODELs give members of Congress a first-hand look at issues they spend money on or write legislation about. They travel to fulfill their oversight duty - such as recent congressional visits to immigrant detention centers.
But some argue that CODELs are a secret weapon to fight partisanship.
There are few opportunities for members of Congress to talk to folks on the other side of the aisle. They fly in to Washington on Monday nights and fly home Thursday afternoons. They eat lunch with members of their own party.
In an era where partisanship divides Congress completely, CODEL trips can create, according to Politico, "rare human connections that can shape future policy — even on issues unrelated to foreign affairs."
North Carolina Republican Senator Tom Tillis was on a CODEL to Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo with Democrat Chris Murphy. The trip, according to Tillis involved "working 12- and 14-hour days, we’re sometimes traveling two or three hours from country to country. And that just gets you into a position where … you build that trust and you build that familiarity, [and] that serves as a basis for getting accomplished what we did.”
What they accomplish was bipartisan gun legislation.
PS: Tom Tillis will not be running for re-election after his clash with the President over the "Big Beautiful Bill."