they don t quite track as being that important when compared to other trips where lawmakers are going around the world to do things like visit troops in iraq and afghanistan. wouldn t we all like to go to puerto rico in february, especially if you happen to live on the east coast. yes. how do these things happen? is there congressional oversight? and is there some sort of, i don t know, office, or do they have to get approval to take these kinds of trips? how do they happen? they do. the congressional ethics office oversees these trips and before they go, lawmakers have to give their itinerary and estimated costs, so the ethics committee decides whether or not the travel is kosher. but, i haven t seen much where the ethics office has, in fact, said no, you can t go. so it s almost a rubber stamp in a lot of ways. laura colarusso from the daily beast. interesting article. people can find it online. thanks so much for being with us. thanks for having me. here s what s happe