US lawmakers accepted more than $6.6 million worth of free airline tickets, hotel rooms and meals paid for by special interest groups in 2022

US lawmakers accepted more than $6.6 million worth of free airline tickets, hotel rooms and meals paid for by special interest groups in 2022,, per Bloomberg.

The total of 1,785 trips that were paid for by outside organizations last year was up from 829 trips in 2021, and 321 in 2020, when travel was limited by coronavirus restrictions, according to a database of disclosures compiled by the nonpartisandata service LegiStorm LLC.

“Privately sponsored travel for members of Congress is one of the most effective tools of influence-peddling by businesses and special interest groups,” Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen,