Jones provides records of ‘01 trip

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the Ohio Democrat who sits on the House ethics committee, has provided a sworn statement and canceled checks as proof that a trip she took to Puerto Rico wasn’t improperly paid for by a lobbyist, as her official paperwork initially stated.

The June 2001 trip was actually paid for by Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques (TPRV), a group formed to protest the U.S. Navy’s bombing range in Vieques, according to the sworn statement by group representatives.

“We were able to obtain the funds for this and all our other activities through our fundraising efforts,” the representatives, Jose Paralitici and Pilar Belendez-Soltero, said in the statement made last week.

Mrs. Jones also produced copies of canceled checks from TPRV to Sidney Travel and to Doral Resort, which Mrs. Jones’ office said handled the travel and lodging. The checks from June and July 2001 were for several members of Congress and totaled $11,220.

The original travel disclosure form filed with the House clerk stated that D.C. lobbyist firm Smith, Dawson & Andrews had paid the $3,366 tab for Mrs. Jones and her husband to travel to the Puerto Rican island of Vieques in the Caribbean. House ethics rules prohibit registered lobbyists from paying for members’ travel.

Mrs. Jones said yesterday the “original report that was filed was a result of human error. I am confident that I have complied with all ethics rules on that trip.”

The sworn statement and canceled checks that Mrs. Jones’ office produced were in response to a story last week by The Washington Times about the initial travel disclosure forms she signed and registered with the House. She has since refiled corrected paperwork. In that story, both a partner of Smith, Dawson & Andrews and Mrs. Jones’ office denied that the lobbyist firm paid for her trip, but Mrs. Jones’ office would not provide any documentation.

Caught up in the ensuing controversy was Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, who joined Mrs. Jones on the trip but listed TPRV as the sponsor. Republicans said the discrepancy in travel disclosure forms raised questions about the funding of everyone’s trip.

“We would hope that you would come forward with any and all documentation your office has proving that in fact the group, Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques, initiated and paid for your trip,” wrote Republican Reps. Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia in a letter to Mrs. Pelosi.

“Ms. Jones’ disclosures that a lobbyist in fact paid for it, and her subsequent statement that the lobbying firm handled the logistics, has created an appearance that the true source of the funds may not actually be Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques.”

Republicans were particularly critical of Mrs. Pelosi since she has publicly scolded Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, over reports that his travel had been paid for by lobbyists. Mrs. Pelosi has maintained that there were no questions about her travel.

“Rarely has so much been made of so little,” spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said yesterday.

The questions arose amid scrutiny of all members’ travel and seemingly endless ethical accusations from both sides of the aisle.

“I’m a former judge. I’m a former prosecutor,” said Mrs. Jones, who is in her fifth year on the ethics committee. “I take my duty on the ethics committee very seriously.”