Legislators Defend China Trip on Taxpayer Dime

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) State legislators are defending a trip to China they plan to take this summer on the taxpayers' dime. About 20-thousand dollars will be used to send more than a dozen lawmakers to the Liaoning Province in Northeastern China. House Majority Leader Dave Clark says the trip will plant economic seeds:

"We have an opportunity now to pave the road for business into that market," says Clark. "I hope we can bring back some cultural, educational and government exchanges in the process."

Clark will co-lead the delegation with Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble. The pair pushed the trip back to the second week of July to accommodate their schedules. Senate President Jon Valentine says the trip merits taxpayer dollars because it's a chance to learn about an "ancient and powerful civilization."

"We'd be dumb as rocks if we didn't take the opportunity to find out about the world," says Valentine. "Sometimes we're criticized as Utahns of being narrow-minded; being a closed society; of not spending time learning about the world. Well this is a great opportunity at a very small cost to be able to do that."

Yesterday legislators decided to spend several thousand dollars more to send two additional lawmakers, for a total of 14. Spouses will be expected to pay their own way. A few of the trip's participants are from Utah's mineral-rich regions, since Liaoning is known for its oil, steel, iron and chemical extraction.

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