Foreign Affairs and Senator Evan Bayh

This article seems to come across rather neutral prima facie; however, others have seized upon it to serve their own interest in their own selfish campaign to blot the senator. So be it. All one can truly say is that Senator Bayh is doing his homework in Foreign Relations and should be commended for being proactive.

The Mansfield Center for Public Affairs, a public policy group in Washington, sent Bayh and his wife, Susan, to China in 2000, 2001 and 2002 for a combined cost of $40,524.

Bayh's positions on China have been mixed. He voted with most senators in 2000 to make permanent China's standing as a normal U.S. trading partner. But recently, Bayh has been among the members of Congress complaining that the United States hasn't done enough to combat unfair trade practices in China, such as an undervalued currency and violations of patents and copyrights.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry sent the Bayhs on a tour of India last year that cost $17,692, the second-most-expensive trip taken by anyone in Indiana's congressional delegation for the past decade.

"Senator Bayh traveled to India for the same reasons he traveled to China, because it is a growing presence in the global market whose impact on Indiana and America will only continue to increase over the coming years," Bayh spokeswoman Meg Keck said.

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