Trent Lott's corporate jet usage
As the Senate debates whether to effectively end politicians' travel aboard corporate jets, senators don't have far to look for examples of how the system has worked.
New Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) tops the list of current lawmakers who have most frequently been jetted around the country aboard the luxurious private jets of Corporate America.
Lott reimbursed companies, including tobacco giant UST and phone giant BellSouth, for 18 such trips in 2006 alone, Federal Election Commission records show. And between 2001 and 2006, he reimbursed companies least $166,908 for at least 123 such trips, according to the Political MoneyLine service. Lott's office did not return several calls seeking comment.
The trips are a boon for lawmakers, giving them door-to-door service without the hassles of commercial airflight. And they only have to pay a portion of the actual cost of the jet.
For companies, it's a great chance to bend the ear of lawmakers. "BellSouth allowed its corporate jets to be used by members of congress because of the unique opportunity it gave the company's lobbyists to spend time with the Member.
Often the industry issues were discussed and this provided an opportunity for a detailed discussion of complex issues," said Bill McCloskey, a spokesman for BellSouth that last month completed its merger with AT&T. BellSouth provided at least 11 flights to Lott since 2001.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid was also a regular passenger aboard corporate jets, frequently at the behest of Las Vegas casino and entertainment giants. But this week he introduced the proposal that could effectively end the practice.
To learn more about lawmakers corporate flights, read more Washington Post coverage.
| Company | Number of flights | Total reimbursement amount |
|---|
| UST Inc |
28 |
$49,329 |
| Northwest Airlines Fuel Services Co |
25 |
$27,396 |
| BellSouth Corporation |
12 |
$19,393 |
| R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company |
11 |
$9,518 |
| Federal Express Corporation |
10 |
$11,356 |
| MCI Inc |
10 |
$14,181 |
| Union Pacific Corporation |
6 |
$13,927 |
| Entergy Services Inc |
6 |
$10,445 |
| Raytheon Company |
5 |
$8,865 |
| Aflac Inc |
3 |
$3,497 |
| CBRL Group Inc - Cracker Barrel |
3 |
$4,365 |
| Griffin Industries |
3 |
$3,007 |
| L-3 Vertex Aerospace |
3 |
$3,249 |
| Viking Range Corporation |
2 |
$2,924 |
| Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation |
2 |
$2,754 |
| Pilot Corporation |
1 |
$696 |
| Pittston Coal Company |
1 |
$2,000 |
| Limited Inc |
1 |
$1,210 |
| Jones Management Services LLC |
1 |
$3,139 |
| Roy Anderson Corporation |
1 |
$1,055 |
| Salza Foods Corporation |
1 |
$2,175 |
| Scruggs Law Firm Inc |
1 |
$5,350 |
| Southern Company |
1 |
$2,399 |
| U.S. Strategies |
1 |
$1,084 |
| El Paso Corporation |
1 |
$2,222 |
| RJ Corman Company |
1 |
$1,322 |
| Sanderson Farms Inc. |
1 |
$1,175 |
| Black Beauty Coal |
1 |
$1,214 |
| CSX Corp. |
1 |
$2,188 |
| Northrop Grumman Corporation |
1 |
$364 |
| Boeing Company |
1 |
$2,413 |
| Philip Morris Management Corp |
1 |
$1,025 |
| DGN Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Dow Chemical |
0 |
$None |
| Duit Construction |
0 |
$None |
| Dynegy Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| E-Trade |
0 |
$None |
| Eastman Chemical |
0 |
$None |
| EEI Holding Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| El Paso Energy Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Eli Lilly & Company |
0 |
$None |
| Ingram Industries |
0 |
$None |
| Excel III LLC |
0 |
$None |
| WingField Nevada Group |
0 |
$None |
| Fox Development |
0 |
$None |
| Franklin Square |
0 |
$None |
| General Electric Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Golden Rule Financial Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Government Edge Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Great Plains Communications |
0 |
$None |
| Interface Holding Group |
0 |
$None |
| Group W/Wilkes Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Harrah's Entertainment Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| HealthSouth |
0 |
$None |
| Herbst Oil Company |
0 |
$None |
| HL Capital |
0 |
$None |
| Home Depot |
0 |
$None |
| Huntsman Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Invacare |
0 |
$None |
| Jackson National Life Insurance Co. |
0 |
$None |
| Jay Grant & Associates |
0 |
$None |
| John Childs and Associates |
0 |
$None |
| K.S. Air Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Kerr-McGee Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| King Ranch Inc |
0 |
$None |
| Koch Industries |
0 |
$None |
| Lamar Advertising |
0 |
$None |
| Level 3 Communications |
0 |
$None |
| Lockheed Martin |
0 |
$None |
| Loeffler, Jonas, & Tuggey |
0 |
$None |
| Marketing Systems Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Marmon Aviation Division |
0 |
$None |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. |
0 |
$None |
| MGM Mirage |
0 |
$None |
| Monsanto Company |
0 |
$None |
| National Thoroughbred Racing Association |
0 |
$None |
| Nationwide Mutual Insurance |
0 |
$None |
| NBC News |
0 |
$None |
| NCR Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Nelnet Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Newmont Mining |
0 |
$None |
| Norfolk Iron & Metal Co. |
0 |
$None |
| Norfolk Southern Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Owens Corning |
0 |
$None |
| Park Place Entertainment |
0 |
$None |
| Pax Communications |
0 |
$None |
| Pilkington North America Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Prudential Financial |
0 |
$None |
| Qualcomm Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Ralston Purina Co. |
0 |
$None |
| Recording Industry Association of America |
0 |
$None |
| Reliant Energy Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Rent-A-Center |
0 |
$None |
| Rogers Management Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Sallie Mae |
0 |
$None |
| SBC Communications |
0 |
$None |
| Schering-Plough Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| SDC Management Services |
0 |
$None |
| Sentrus |
0 |
$None |
| ServiceMaster Co. |
0 |
$None |
| Shangri-La Entertainment |
0 |
$None |
| SimmonsCooper |
0 |
$None |
| Sinclair Oil Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Sodak Gaming Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Southern Nevada Joint Management |
0 |
$None |
| Stanford Financial Group |
0 |
$None |
| Swisher International |
0 |
$None |
| Target Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| TECO |
0 |
$None |
| Thayer Capital Partners |
0 |
$None |
| The Boich Group |
0 |
$None |
| TXU Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Tyson Food Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| U.S. Sugar Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Ullico Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| United Health Group |
0 |
$None |
| United Rentals |
0 |
$None |
| Vail Resorts Management Co. |
0 |
$None |
| Vectren Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Verizon Communications |
0 |
$None |
| Vivendi Universal |
0 |
$None |
| Wachovia Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Weldbend Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Wilkes & McHugh |
0 |
$None |
| Archer Daniels Midland |
0 |
$None |
| Panda Energy |
0 |
$None |
| 3M Company |
0 |
$None |
| 800RE |
0 |
$None |
| Abacus Enterprise |
0 |
$None |
| Abbott Laboratories |
0 |
$None |
| Addington Aviation |
0 |
$None |
| Advance America Cash Advance Center Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| American International Group |
0 |
$None |
| Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association |
0 |
$None |
| AmeriPlan |
0 |
$None |
| Anadarko Petroleum Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Aquilla, Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| International Game Technology |
0 |
$None |
| Baron & Budd |
0 |
$None |
| Barr Laboratories |
0 |
$None |
| Basha's Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Baxter Healthcare Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Boston Capital Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Broin Associates |
0 |
$None |
| C7 Inc. |
0 |
$None |
| Cemex USA |
0 |
$None |
| CenturyTel |
0 |
$None |
| Chicago Mercantile Exchange |
0 |
$None |
| Clark/Bardes Consulting |
0 |
$None |
| CLS of Las Vegas |
0 |
$None |
| Coanda |
0 |
$None |
| Coca-Cola Enterprises |
0 |
$None |
| Collins Brothers Corp. |
0 |
$None |
| Comcast |
0 |
$None |
| Corrections Corporation of America |
0 |
$None |
| Crossbow LLC |
0 |
$None |
| Dairy Farmers of America |
0 |
$None |
Source: PoliticalMoneyLine, Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission records
Credit: John Solomon and Derek Willis, The Washington Post; Adrian Holovaty, washingtonpost.com
© The Washington Post Company
