Spotlight on Paid Travel Casts Shadow on Shows

Elected officials and federal regulators are a common sight at tradeshows. But with the spotlight now on paid legislative travel, some are opting to stay home.

Members of Congress typically turn out for The Natl. Show, the Natl. Cable & Telecommunications Assn.'s annual gathering. But they were largely absent from this year's April 9-11 event at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center.

In a departure from years past, the association simply didn't invite them. "We didn't want to put them in the uncomfortable position of having to turn down an invitation," said NCTA spokesman Brian Dietz.

However, Georgia's U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Rep. Tom Price attended the show in their home state, in addition to representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, which pays for its own travel.

Federal legislators' participation has also been largely curtailed at NAB2006, held April 22-27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "Because of skittishness on the part of members of Congress over lobbying reform and congressional travel, there will be no panel session at NAB2006 featuring members of Congress," said NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton, adding that "NAB is not the only tradeshow to experience a drop-off in legislator attendance."

NAB2006 drew only local Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and two congressional staffers, in addition to all five FCC commissioners and a number of agency staff.

The increased concern with congressional travel comes as tougher ethics rules are being considered in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal. The Senate last month passed a bill that, among other things, would require legislators to obtain clearance from the Senate Ethics Committee for privately funded travel. In the House, Speaker Dennis Hastert has suggested a permanent ban on paid travel, a proposal that has garnered opposition.

Tradeshow organizers typically don't pay for speakers from private companies to attend shows. And representatives from federal agencies usually pay their own travel expenses. But some large associations, with equally large budgets, occasionally pay for legislators to speak or attend annual shows.

NAB is the biggest spender in that arena, expending $150,956 on legislative travel since 2000, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a campaign finance Web site. Eight trips for elected federal officials and their spouses were sponsored in 2001, 2003 and 2005, seven in 2002, six in 2004 and four in 2000.

In some instances, the legislators were keynote or panel speakers, and in other cases they attended the annual convention to meet broadcasters and executives, attend educational sessions and tour the exhibit floor. The tabs for airfare, lodging and meals usually amounted to under $2,000.

The pattern was similar for the NCTA, which spent $102,697 to bring federal legislators to its annual meetings between 2000 and 2005, and for the Consumer Electronics Assn., which spent $98,733 on 55 legislative trips during that period, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.

Although elected officials were absent from The Natl. Show, FCC officials were not. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who also made appearances this spring at CTIA Wireless and TelecomNEXT, delivered a keynote speech at The Natl. Show, and agency officials were given a tour of the showfloor.

Commission spokesman David Fisk said going to events lets FCC commissioners and staff tour showfloors, meet industry members and see the latest technology. "It's something that senior staff and commissioners feel is very important," he said.

Through its Leaders in Technology program, the CEA makes a special effort to include policymakers in Intl. CES, the United States' biggest annual tradeshow. Organized by the association's governmental relations staff, the program steers more than 100 policymakers to keynote speeches, educational sessions, a special dinner and the showfloor.

CEA spokeswoman Tara Dunion said the program exposes policymakers to current issues and cutting-edge products. At the same time, industry members can benefit from their policy perspectives.

"We keep them pretty busy," she said. "Nothing can replace being at the show. It really helps them with their jobs."

While the association is monitoring the travel situation, Dunion said no changes are being planned for next January's show. "We're keeping tabs on it and continue to plan for our program as usual."

Natl. Trade Productions' GovSec, U.S. Law and Ready! normally draws strong participation from the public sector. Jennifer Hoff, show director and NTP vice president of operation and conferences, said her group is aware of the proposed travel restrictions.

But participation in the April 25-27 show at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center was actually up. "We haven't had too much of an issue," Hoff said.

The BIO Annual Convention has been drawing increased participation from public officials, especially state governors. Patrick Kelly, BIO vice president of state government relations, said his group started reaching out to the states' top elected officials after four governors turned out for the 1998 show in New York, eager for their states to lure biotech companies.

The April 9-12 show that recently wrapped up in Chicago featured participation from 12 state governors. The show's nearly 20,000 participants also included Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, former CIA Director James Woolsey and former President Bill Clinton. Despite the high level of participation from former and current public officials, Clinton was the only one who commanded a speaker's fee, Kelly said.