High Class or 'Voter Class'? How Congress Travels on Your Dime

For most business travelers, hitting the road on the company dime comes with strict limits on spending and the need to keep receipts. But when the travelers are members of Congress  or their staffers -- and taxpayers are footing the bill -- it appears sky's the limit on just what goes.  Government employees travel in high style at taxpayer expense.

While international travel can be an important part of the job, congressional workers often spent surprisingly large sums of money on official trips, sometimes much more than needed, an ABC News investigation into congressional travel records has found.

One congressional staffer spent more than $76,000 taxpayer dollars in the last nine months alone, traveling to Europe and Asia.

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At the start of the trips, congressional employees get paid up to $200 cash for "food and incidentals" for each day they're on the road. However, whatever is not spent, they keep. No receipts are kept or submitted to track actual expenses.

"They can spend it on gifts. They can take it home and invest it. They can do whatever," former Republican Rep. Tom Davis confirmed.

One senator even tried to return his unspent money and was told he could not.  

Unbelievable.  And this seems to be going on both sydes of the house.  $200 a day to accommodate eating?  What incidentals?  I could eat out for the day for a quarter of that amount.  And the fact they are 'obligated' to keep the change, is ridiculous.

I'm on a budget why can't they be on one!

without a sound budget, any "business" will eventually go bankrupt