Waxman claims Cabinet political trips funded by taxpayers

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on Wednesday accused the White House of using taxpayers' dollars to pay for hundreds of trips by Cabinet and other top administration officials intended to boost Republican congressional candidates before the 2006 elections.

In a 27-page report, Waxman charged that although previous administrations have mounted similar election-year travel blitzes, "the extent of political activity by the current White House and its deep and systematic reach into the federal agencies is unprecedented."

House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Tom Davis, R-Va., dismissed the report as "hopelessly political," claiming Waxman's investigation set out to find banned political activity and uncovered the "same kind of things done by every administration since Eisenhower."

The report said that between Jan. 1, 2006 and Nov. 7, Election Day, Cabinet secretaries and other senior Bush administration officials made trips to more than 300 events recommended by the White House Office of Political Affairs.