Budget Impasse No Damper on Junkets : Travel: Rep. Carlos Moorhead and friends head for Copacabana beach, other fun places as federal workers are idled.

WASHINGTON — With temperatures dipping below freezing and relations over the federal budget stuck on zero, some members of Congress may pine for warmer places.

Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Pasadena) is actually heading for several of them next week, at taxpayer expense.

To the irritation of the White House and some colleagues who are staying at their desks during the budget impasse, Moorhead is planning to lead members of a House Judiciary subcommittee through Panama, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador.

Their stated purpose is to investigate copyright issues.

But, while toiling on their constituents’ behalf, the five members will also take in the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, the spectacular Iguazu Falls in Argentina, the Otavalo market in Ecuador and lovely Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.

Moorhead could not be reached for comment Friday. A telephone message said his Pasadena office is closed for the holidays, and there was no answer at his Washington office.

His 16-day excursion is one of several upcoming getaways to such destinations as France, Egypt and Pakistan planned by members of Congress while 280,000 federal employees remain home on furlough.

Critics say the timing couldn’t be worse.

“Is this really a way to negotiate a balanced budget?” White House spokesman Mike McCurry asked. “They should ask themselves that question and they should do so before they go fly overseas.”

Although the number of Democrats and Republicans traveling appears to be about even, the White House focused its ire on junketing Republican representatives who opposed a temporary spending bill to reopen the government during negotiations.

Not all the critics adopted a partisan tone, however.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) “strongly advised” members scheduled to take overseas trips “to postpone their plans” until a budget agreement has been reached, according to Gingrich spokesman Tony Blankley.

House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said, “Nobody ought to go on a trip as long as this government shutdown continues.”

Dan Buck, top aide to Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.) who is scheduled to join Moorhead, said she would not go if a budget agreement is not in place.

Asked what copyright issues would be dealt with in Machu Picchu and Copacabana, Buck said, “Those were scheduled by the committee.”

The prospect of arranging accommodations and handling schedules for traveling lawmakers struck a nerve in U.S. embassies where some foreign service officers have been furloughed and others are working without pay.

“Frankly, we are disturbed by the thought that while American schoolchildren are being turned away from Smithsonian museums, national parks, monuments and memorials, some members of the U.S. Congress are looking forward to seeing exotic attractions,” said one State Department cable from a South American post.

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State Department spokesman John Dinger said members of Congress are being asked to put off travel plans.

“We have assured them that we will do our best to support their travel while asking them to understand that we are facing difficult circumstances,” he said.

F. Allen Harris, president of the American Foreign Service Assn., which represents members of the diplomatic corps, said staffing cuts in recent years have made it more difficult to cater to lawmakers’ needs abroad.

“We no longer have the capacity that we had in the past to engage in official tourism,” he said.

The embassy in Israel was expecting about a dozen lawmakers in January. Many were traveling with their spouses, and put in special requests to visit historic sites.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) left Thursday for Egypt, reportedly with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

Spokesman Charles Robbins confirmed that Specter was traveling with his wife and at least two aides, and said the two senators were assessing intelligence-gathering needs in Africa.

Robbins said the trip was supported primarily by Defense Department and intelligence community staff.

But a U.S. Embassy official in Cairo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Specter planned to visit the Nile, and that he had inquired about squash courts and a bilingual volunteer to escort the lawmakers’ spouses.

Not all trips are considered frivolous.

Dinger said working visits abroad can contribute to lawmakers’ understanding of foreign policy. Harris praised three Senate Intelligence Committee members who plan to discuss drug trafficking and trade with officials in five countries in just eight days.

Rep. Charlie Wilson, a retiring Democrat from Texas and a ranking member on a subcommittee that handles foreign-operations funding, plans a long trip through Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, France, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Elaine Lang, a spokeswoman for Wilson, said the trip had been planned for six months, and that Wilson can return on a moment’s notice if his vote is needed on budget issues.