Tommy Sowers demands that Rep. Jo Ann Emerson reveal details of taxpayer-funded junkets

Rolla, MO (December 16, 2009)- Congressional candidate Tommy Sowers today demanded that Representative Jo Ann Emerson release details on a taxpayer-funded trip to Scotland that included fine dining in "decadent" restaurants, sightseeing and spa visits.

"She should tell it all and tell it now," Sowers said after the trip was detailed in a story today in the Wall Street Journal.

A link to the full Wall Street Journal Article can be found here: http://bit.ly/EmersonInWSJ.

"At a time when Missouri families are out of work and struggling to make ends meet, Representative Emerson has added insult to injury by taking their hard earned tax dollars and squandering them on this trip," Sowers said. "Emerson is tragically out of touch with the realities of life in southeastern Missouri. I demand, on behalf of the people of Missouri, that she release her full and complete itinerary as well as the full cost to the taxpayers of her portion of this Scotland trip.

"In addition, it appears that over the past five years she took similar junkets with the same group to Norway, Ukraine, Germany, Georgia, Belgium, Spain, France, Denmark, Slovenia and Italy. The taxpayers deserve a full accounting for those and any similar trips as well."

According to the article, Emerson and several other legislators, who were there to attend a five-day conference, stayed for only three days during which they "toured historic buildings ... shopped for Scotch whisky and visited the hotel spa." They also had dinner at a restaurant that describes itself as "decadent" on its own website. A London newspaper review of the restaurant said it is "the preferred destination for cash-flash celebrities." The Wall Street Journal said that legislators used their "own money" to buy dinner at the restaurant but that they were provided $118 per day in taxpayer's money for expenses.

A link to Rhubarb Restaurant where Rep. Emerson dined: http://bit.ly/EdinburghDinner.

Sowers said, "The cash Representative Emerson was flashing is ours. This is a complete and unconscionable waste of taxpayer money.

"This must stop. This trip by Representative Emerson shows a complete disconnect from the responsibilities of this job and the reality of this district. Jo Ann Emerson is leading a jet-setting celebrity lifestyle at the taxpayer's expense. Someone like her who was raised in DC might not see a problem with it, but it doesn't make sense here at home. People are hurting down here in southeastern Missouri, and they are ready for someone to finally start fighting for them."