"Rep. Ford said he favors setting up an independent panel to review and approve privately funded trips before they are taken. But he said he would support a ban on private travel if that is the only way to end any hint of corruption.He said most of his trips were for one-day speaking engagements to established school groups, churches and nonprofit organizations. Records show that on 60 of Rep. Ford’s 69 trips he returned on the same day or the next day. His travel cost more than $53,000 while his lodging bills totaled less than $12,000 and his meals cost less than $500. Rep. Ford said he turns down most of his speaking invitations, which started to increase after he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2000.
"I’ve literally gotten 2,000 requests since then," he said. "You’ll never see me asking a nonprofit to take me somewhere, put me up in a hotel and pay for me to play two rounds of golf a day."
Source: Chattanooga Free Times Press
Read about Congressman Ford's actions on ethics reform here! (1 , 2, 3)
