Blessed are the appropriations committee members, for they shall rack up significant frequent flier miles
Oh for God's sake.
Literally, I mean.
House Agriculture Appropriations Chairman Robert B. Aderholt has broken bread for years at international prayer breakfasts, courtesy of trips paid for by a private foundation funded by an Arkansas poultry company.
The Alabama Republican has visited Montenegro, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Colombia, Bolivia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Romania and Guatemala between 2008 and 2015 on the tab of the Fellowship Foundation, which does business as the International Foundation. Total cost: $60,000, according to a blog post by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Said International Foundation appears to be run by the CFO of Arkansas poultry company Mountaire Corp., which is a bit of a coincidence considering we just introduced Aderholt up there as
House Agriculture Appropriations Chairman Robert B. Aderholt. And while international religious proselytizing is no doubt commonplace in the American poultry industry (I hear just entering one of the industry's large-scale factory farms will put the fear of God into most people), some cranks are wondering if it's on the up-and-up to have the chair of the appropriations subcommittee for agriculture flying around the world on an agricultural company's dime. Not to worry, says Aderholt—you're all just stupid.
“I know that there’s absolutely nothing … that there is nothing improper,” the 10-term lawmaker told CQ Roll Call. “Only in Washington would a story come out and you would be reluctant to go to a prayer breakfast.”
Interesting. Aderholt seems to have stumbled on the perfect arrangement: Why yes, a company that could be greatly impacted by my work on my appropriations subcommittee has been plying me with free trips for years—but it is because Jesus. Why do you hate Jesus, corruption watchdogs? This is simply an arrangement between a company that loves Jesus and a congressman who loves Jesus and who wants to travel the world to love Jesus in places that need to love Jesus a bit more than they currently do.
It's not our fault we both also just happen to also be really, really interested in congressional bills pertaining to poultry. I mean, who wouldn't be?