The David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem

The 10 most expensive trips taken by employees of the federal agency that oversees the nation’s historical records were not to American research sites or to any of the agency’s 45 U.S. facilities.

All 10 of these trips by representatives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) were to foreign countries, at a combined cost of more than $100,000, or about $10,000 per trip. The destinations included Australia, Malaysia (twice), Vietnam, Israel (three times), South Korea, Uruguay and China.

The National Archives and Records Administration is responsible for preserving millions of government documents that record important events in American history. The items in its care include the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation and new documents transferred every day for storage.

The agency has more than 3,000 full-time employees and an annual budget exceeding $450 million. It has facilities in 22 states, including 14 regional archive centers.

JunketSleuth examined thousands of electronic records and hundreds of copies of original travel receipts obtained through requests filed under the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The computer analysis found that about 2,000 NARA employees spent $14.45 million on travel between October 2005 and August 2010, or an average of about $7,000 per employee.

The agency’s travel spending rose from $2.5 million in 2007 to $3.2 million in 2008, an increase of 25 percent. It climbed again to $3.4 million in 2009, the last year for which comprehensive records were available.

NATIONWIDE PROGRAMS

NARA spokeswoman Susan Cooper said the agency sponsors nationwide programs, including traveling exhibitions, a loan program to museums, and teacher workshops.

“This aspect of our mission can only be fulfilled if staff travel to various sites across the country, bringing original treasures to the American people and to encourage the study and appreciation of our shared history,” she said.

“Archivists and other professionals travel frequently within their region to conduct records management training courses for regional government employees, to hold workshops for educators and to learn from other professionals in the field.”

JunketSleuth found that more than 98 percent of NARA’s trips were to domestic locations. The top overall traveler spent $241,547 more than $48,000 a year, solely on U.S. trips.

Ronald Noll, an NARA contracting officer, took more than 200 trips to 20 American cities. That travel included 56 visits to the/Dallas/Fort Worth area and 51 visits to Los Angeles.

NARA employees took 231 trips to destinations outside the United States, at a cost about $600,000.

BUSINESS CLASS TO AUSTRALIA

The most expensive trip was an eight-day, $15,399 visit to Canberra, Australia, in 2007 by James Hastings, the agency’s former director of access programs. He was invited by the Archivist of Australia to be a keynote speaker at the “Digital Futures International Forum.”

“The archivist of the United States approved the trip because it was an extremely important gathering of speakers and participants from nine countries who were addressing a wide range of issues on creating, preserving, and making available records in digital format,” Cooper said. “The strength of the continuing digital partnerships that the National Archives has with the National Archives of the U.K., Australia, Germany and others that were solidified in the Canberra discussions are more than worth the investment.”

Hastings flew business class to Australia, at a cost of $14,373.

“Total travel time from Washington to Canberra was 24 hours each way,” Cooper said. “Government travelers are authorized business class when travel is 12 hours or more.”

Because Hastings’ trip lasted eight days and NARA listed the total cost as only about $1,000 more than his plane ticket, it’s possible that some of his expenses were picked up by his hosts or some other outside party, which is allowed by federal agencies.

A PART-TIME ADVISOR

Four of the 10 most expensive NARA trips – all foreign – were taken by the same person: Deputy Archivist Lewis Bellardo, who repeatedly asked NARA for first class upgrades for long international flights. Bellardo retired on Dec. 31, 2007, but he continued working as a part-time advisor.

And he continued to travel.

In 2008, he spent two weeks on a trip to conferences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore at a cost of $11,755, the second most expensive NARA trip. In 2010, he spent nine days at a conference in Seoul, South Korea at a cost of $9,323, the eighth most expensive trip.

In all, Bellardo made 14 foreign trips costing a total of $70,425. He went to Paris four times, and also traveled to Beijing; Vienna; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Montevideo, Uruguay.

Cooper said all the trips were necessary.

Bellardo, she said, represented NARA in the development of international records management standards as a member of the International Standards Organization (ISO).

“As a member – and at times the leader – of the U.S. delegation of government and private sector delegates, it was necessary for Dr. Bellardo to travel to meetings of the working group,” Cooper said.

Bellardo, she said, also represented the NARA on the International Council on Archives, which focuses on “good record keeping as a tool for good governance.”

In 2008, Bellardo was elected vice president of the program.

“Bellardo travels to professional meetings all over the world at least six times a year; however, whenever possible, he tries to encourage the meetings to be held in Washington,” Cooper said.

THREE TRIPS TO ISRAEL

Another NARA employee took a six-day trip to Jerusalem in September 2008 that cost $10,633, or $1,772 per day.
That traveler was Allen Weinstein. He took the trip three months before he resigned as archivist of the United States, the agency’s top position.

The purpose of the trip was described in NARA travel data as: “Meetings with national archivists of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as well as other high-ranking officials, to continue planning for archival assistance projects.”

Copies of hotel records show Weinstein spent four nights at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem at a room rate of $340 a night. His bill included a dinner costing $134, which was listed in the NARA records as a “personal” charge. It also listed a lunch costing $41, several “lounge tips” of varying amounts, and room service charges.

The hotel is described on its website as “the newest and most luxurious one among Jerusalem hotels and Israel Hotels ... featuring magnificent decor, 384 sumptuous suites and guestrooms with state of the art communication facilities, finest cuisine and a wide range of amenities for the discerning guest.”

The trip was Weinstein’s second to Jerusalem in less than seven months. In February 2008, he took a nine-day, $9,444 trip that included a stop in London and at least seven days in Israel.

“Mr. Weinstein stopped in the United Kingdom during the first trip to Israel in order to meet with the United Kingdom National Archivist to discuss their possible participation in the project and other matters of mutual interest,” Cooper said in a written statement.

That ranked as the sixth most expensive NARA trip. Israel was the only country that appeared more than twice on the list of the 10 costliest NARA trips.

Michael Carlson, director of NARA’s Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division, took a nine-day trip to Israel in February 2008 that cost $9,382, making it the seventh most expensive NARA trip.

He was in Israel at the same time as Weinstein.

The agency’s travel records say that the purpose of Carlson’s trip was “to meet with the Israeli and Palestinian archival programs on issues of mutual interest for the purpose of offering assistance and pursuing collaborative projects.”

The next sentence begins: “The trip includes...,” but the rest of the sentence was redacted by NARA, which cited an exemption to the federal open records law protecting information that could invade someone’s personal privacy.

Carlson and Weinstein both stayed in the $344-a-night King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Records indicate both spent much of their time on the premises.

Charges for Carlson’s five-night stay at the hotel included 10 charges for room service meals, five beverage charges, four others charges for food and 10 local and international telephone calls. It’s unclear, however, how many of those charges were billed to the government.

Carlson’s hotel bill totaled $2,503, or more than $500 a night.

Charges for Weinstein’s six-night stay included 12 room service food charges, two other food charges and seven beverage charges, for a total of $2,360 including the room.

Cooper, the NARA spokeswoman, said Weinstein went to Israel to negotiate an agreement related to archives projects with the Israel State Archives, National Archives of Palestine, Library and Archives Canada and NARA.

“He was accompanied on these trips by a National Archives expert,” she said. “The purpose of the project was to preserve fragile and at-risk permanent records, improve records management in the Israel-Palestine area, digitize at-risk materials, and train staff in archival and records management areas in which they are deficient.”

“As I mentioned to you in my earlier answers, the National Archives is an archival leader in the world community, and is, therefore, called upon to promote open and accessible archives worldwide.”

AID TO VIETNAM

In 2008, NARA sent two Office of the Federal Register employees to Vietnam at the request of the Vietnamese government, Cooper said.

Cooper said the trips to Vietnam were necessary.

“These NARA staffers provided technical assistance to help Vietnam comply with requirements of the World Trade Organization and the U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement relating to openness and transparency of the regulatory process,” she said. “In 2009, the Vietnamese government requested assistance on the task of reviewing and reporting on a draft Codification Ordinance to implement the Law on Laws and to work with the Office of the Government on building the capacity of Vietnam's Official Gazettes. One of these NARA employees traveled back to Vietnam to offer expert advice on codification and publication issues.”