GovernmentExecutive.com

With Congress having passed an ethics bill that places new restrictions on lobbyist-funded travel by legislators, USA Today delves into the issue of executive branch travel. It turns out that it's pretty routine for agency officials to take the kind of trips that now will be off-limits for lawmakers. Executive branch officials can accept corporate reimbursement for travel, as long as a trip wouldn't "cause a reasonable person … to question the integrity of agency programs or operations."

That causes some agencies to walk a pretty fine line. The Federal Trade Commission won't "go anywhere near" accepting trips from companies doing business with the commission, says FTC deputy director Eileen Harrington, but does take reimbursement from the Consumer Electronics Association for officials to attend the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.