Video summary
The video transcript presents a satirical yet critical examination of the "Great American Exodus," referring to the widespread practice of U.S. Congress members traveling abroad on official junkets funded by taxpayers. The narrator describes this phenomenon as a modern equivalent to Genghis Khan's invasions, noting that hundreds of legislators and their families are swarming from Greenland to South America under the guise of inspecting foreign spending or attending international conferences. While some trips involve legitimate diplomatic duties, such as studying foreign laws or fostering peace, the report highlights numerous instances where these journeys appear wasteful, extravagant, or even damaging to the United States' reputation. The sheer scale of the exodus is emphasized by the fact that nearly one-third of the entire Congress is traveling overseas during recesses, often requiring military resources like planes and ships that are diverted from essential training missions for French pilots or leaving behind families of servicemen who need transportation home.
A significant portion of the critique focuses on specific examples where these trips lack clear justification or economic sense. The narrator points out that committees often replace abolished State Department positions with congressional delegations, effectively creating redundant roles at public expense. Instances of misconduct and poor judgment are detailed, such as a senator who physically roughs up foreign dignitaries during diplomatic receptions, a congressman from Texas traveling to Russia to investigate veteran issues where none likely exist, and another representative whose primary activity in Europe turns out to be drinking and playing the harmonica in hotel lobbies. The report also mentions a California congressman who tours the globe with his private secretary as a favor to Vice President Nixon, costing taxpayers approximately ten thousand dollars for what is described as unnecessary globetrotting. Even visits to high-profile figures like the Pope are scrutinized for embarrassing moments where legislators harass the pontiff or fail to communicate effectively due to language barriers and subject changes by other members.
Despite the heavy criticism, the transcript acknowledges that some congressional travel yields genuine benefits for the nation and taxpayers. Positive examples include a congressman who successfully built friendship between Italian-Americans and children in Italy, and a first-time European visitor whose trip was deemed necessary for someone responsible for billions of dollars in foreign aid. The most praised journey involves a group of Americans traveling to Russia, which had recently opened its borders, allowing Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and Senator Kefauver to visit the Kremlin and preach in a Baptist church. This specific mission is highlighted as a successful investment that moved Russian congregations and genuinely advanced the cause of peace between the two nations. The narrator concludes that while traveling abroad is valuable for legislators to understand the world they represent, there must be strict checks on extravagance and behavior, urging voters to ensure their representatives conduct themselves with dignity and avoid wasting public funds on unprofitable or undignified excursions.
Read the full video transcript
Today, ladies and gentlemen, I want to
report to you on the great American
Exodus. Some people facetiously compare
it with a march of Genghis Khan and his
armies swarming over Europe.
This modern Exodus, however, is that by
members of Congress
who swarm all over the world from
Greenland to South America, from
Scandinavia to Indochina, allegedly
inspecting how the taxpayers' money is
spent, but at further expense to the
taxpayer.
Sometimes they take their wives for the
free ride and hide them inside a hot
airplane in the airport as they once did
at Guayaquil, Ecuador, so I wouldn't
find out about it.
Sometimes they drink too much as one
group of senators once did at Toledo,
Spain.
Sometimes they make enemies for the
United States as Senator McClellan of
Arkansas did
when he threatened to cut off Marshall
Plan aid because some countries didn't
roll out the red carpet.
But sometimes they make friends
and do a very fine job.
It's a mixed picture.
Now, I have here the confidential list
of senators and congressmen scheduled
for junkets during this congressional
recess, and it's an amazing list. More
congressmen are going abroad than ever
before in history, about 250 more than
1/3 of the entire Congress.
And some rather interesting names on
this confidential list. Here's
Congressman Andrews of Alabama with his
wife and daughter
sailing on the USS Ross for Europe. Also
Congressman Shuford of
North Carolina with wife and two
children and Congressman Frazier of
Tennessee with wife and daughter.
They're going on official business.
The family is paying for meals and a few
minor expenses only and they're supposed
to study the laws of foreign countries,
but
they could have found those laws right
in the Library of Congress just a block
away.
And here's Senator Price Daniels of
Texas with wife and three children
sailed on the SS Independence. Senator
Butler of Maryland with wife and
daughter. Senator Purtell of Connecticut
with wife all in the Independence and
all on official business to attend the
Adams for Peace Conference. And here's
another group of congressmen, members of
the House Appropriations Committee, flew
up to Greenland in August.
Nice and cool up there in August and
quite a few trips to Alaska during the
heat of the summer.
But here is the prize in Operation Free
Ride, an Appropriations Committee headed
by Senator Chavez of New Mexico
which includes his wife, his doctor,
William R. Loveless of Albuquerque, and
quite a few committee staff members and
their wives, a total of 22,
sailed on the military transport Upshur
and
in order to make room for them
the Upshur had to leave behind 42 wives
and children of servicemen
due to join their husbands and fathers
overseas.
Well, that's just a few of the 250
senators, congressmen, wives and staff
members
participating in the great Washington
exodus. So many of them
the Air Force has to curtail its
training of French pilots in order to
get enough planes for the junkets.
But as I said, some of these congressmen
do a worthwhile job.
So let's see who is wasting the
taxpayers' money and who isn't.
I'll be back in just a minute.
First, let's take a look at some of the
trips that are wasting the taxpayers'
money.
One is the House Merchant Marine
Committee which went to Europe to
investigate the cost of European ship
construction.
Now, the real fact is that the State
Department used to have two maritime
attachés in Europe to study and report
on the cost of European ship
construction. But, the recent Eisenhower
economy drive abolished these jobs. So,
now here is what takes their place.
Eight congressmen went to Europe.
Boykin of Alabama, who calls himself all
is made for love.
And Edward Garmatz of Baltimore,
Maryland, a Democrat.
John Allen of Oakland, California,
Republican.
Edward Robeson of Warwick, Virginia,
Democrat.
James Byrne of Philadelphia, another
Democrat. T. A. Thompson of Louisiana,
also a Democrat. Francis Dorn of
Brooklyn, Republican.
And William Mailliard of San Francisco,
Republican.
All these made a special trip to Europe
just to take the place of two maritime
attachés whose jobs were abolished. A
very doubtful economy.
Now, one senator who has a good excuse
to go abroad is Alexander Wiley of
Wisconsin, former chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee. But,
Senator Wiley has such an exaggerated
sense of humor
that foreign dignitaries don't always
appreciate him.
For instance, he slapped the King of
Greece on the back, put his arm around
the somewhat startled but very
good-looking Queen of Greece,
and at one very solemn reception in
Bonn, Germany, he grabbed the President
of West Germany around the waist and
hurled him around the room in what was
supposed to be a Viennese waltz. The
President of Germany didn't know what
was happening.
Another trip which frankly isn't going
to help the taxpayer is that of
Congressman Olin Teague of Texas to
Russia.
Teague, although a very good
congressman, is chairman of the Veterans
Committee, but
just what veterans problems he has to
investigate in Russia is very very
doubtful.
And Congressman Jimmy Morrison of
Louisiana is taking off on quite a
joyride, supposedly to investigate
government personnel in Europe. In order
to justify this trip, Jimmy put out
quite a press release, pages of it,
telling all the things he was going to
do in England, France, Germany,
Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, and
Spain to investigate government
employees, but
he's also going to quite a few places
where there are no government employees
at all. However, it'll be a very nice
trip at the taxpayer's expense, and the
congressman from Louisiana is not
selfish. He's taking with him Tumulty of
New Jersey, Harden of Indiana, Cretella
of Connecticut, and Broyhill of
Virginia.
However,
that is peanuts compared to Congressman
Pat Hillings of California. He is
probably the champion globetrotter. A
protégé of Vice President Nixon, he is
showing the Vice President his trip all
the way from England to India, Hong
Kong, and around the world. He's even
taken with him his private secretary,
all at your and my expense. Now, if you
took that trip,
it would cost you and your wife about
$10,000, but the congressman from
California gets it free.
What for?
I don't know.
Well, another interesting and
unprofitable junket as far as the
taxpayer is concerned is that of a
Judiciary Committee including Walter of
Pennsylvania, Chelf of Kentucky, and
Thompson of Michigan. They're taking a
5-week tour of Europe and the Middle
East, presumably to study immigration.
However, their committee is already
loaded up with data on immigration right
in Washington, and all they have to do
is to sit down in Washington and study
it.
Another traveler to foreign parts is
Congressman Mendel Rivers of South
Carolina, listed as flying to Europe on
unstated but official business.
I regret to say that the last trip
Rivers took to Europe, he investigated
the bars of Paris,
entertained himself by playing the
harmonica and yelling rebel war hoops in
hotel lobbies
until the US Army
had to send a couple of men to chaperone
him.
Yet Congressman Rivers was taken around
Europe by the Army in a government
plane. In other words, we
paid good money
to give the Congressman from South
Carolina a chance to damage our
reputation in Europe.
However, as I said, many congressmen do
a fine job for their country abroad, and
I'll be back in a minute to tell you
about them.
Now, among the trips taken by
congressmen which do not waste the
taxpayers' money is that of Congressman
Victor Anfuso of Brooklyn, who helped to
build Italian-American friendship among
the children of Italy.
Also, Congressman Halleck of Indiana,
though one of the top leaders of the
Republican Party,
had never before been to Europe.
Now, I don't think any congressman who
has to pass on billions of dollars to
foreign countries should be without
knowledge of those countries. So, it was
probably a good idea for Halleck to go
abroad.
One committee also had a very inspiring
audience with the Pope. It was most
helpful, but
during an earlier audience, former
Congressman Bishop of Illinois caused
great embarrassment by harassing the
Pope with questions entirely outside the
Pope's knowledge.
"If we send money for relief goods over
here," Bishop asked,
"how do we know the goods will ever get
to the people who need them?"
When Congressman Bates of Illinois
intervened to answer the question for
the Pope, Bishop interrupted.
"I don't want any answers from you," he
said. "I want an answer from him."
And he pointed to His Holiness.
Now, the Pope tries hard to speak
English with American callers as he
graciously did with me.
But his English is not the best in the
world and before he can finally answer,
other congressmen managed to change the
subject.
Now, probably the most interesting and
beneficial trips of the current
congressional exodus were taken to
Russia,
which for the first time opened the Iron
Curtain
to admit 44 American congressmen and
officials.
The most notable were Supreme Court
Justice William O. Douglas with his
wife,
also Senator Sparkman of Alabama with
his wife, who visited the only Baptist
Church in Moscow as seen here,
and Senator Kefauver, who not only
inspected the Kremlin,
but preached to sermon inside the
Baptist Church.
"My grandfather," he began,
"was a Baptist preacher 3 in taller than
I am and when he preached a sermon, he
preached a long time."
Well, this didn't arouse much humor from
the Russian congregation.
But they did become genuinely
enthusiastic when he continued,
"We people of the United States hope and
pray
our people
and your people can live in peace."
The congregation seemed deeply moved.
And I'm sure Senator Kefauver's visit
and that of the other congressmen to
Russia
genuinely helped the cause of peace.
Their trip was a good investment for the
taxpayers.
Now, some people have asked me, "What is
the solution for these congressional
junkets? Should they continue? Should
they be curtailed?"
Well, there is no real answer.
A congressman should travel abroad. He
needs to know what the world is like,
the world that he has to vote so much
money for. But
there is one thing you, the voters, can
do.
Keep check on your congressman.
While it may be a good thing for him to
go abroad, he should not be extravagant.
And above all, he should behave.
He must conduct himself at all times
like an American.