Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) received the star treatment despite traveling in a war-torn region.
The Eastern Congo Initiative, founded by Ben Affleck, paid for the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda in December. The congressman got the chance to meet various government and civil society leaders while getting to witness first-hand some of ECI's projects.
From Dec. 14-19, Smith traveled to Bukavu, Goma and Kinshasa in the Congo and Kigali in Rwanda. During that week, he met with government officials, Congolese soldiers and Dr. Denis Mukwege, a nominee for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize who founded a hospital known for helping victims of gang rape used by rebel forces.
Smith has oversight on Pentagon operations, which included U.S. Africa Command-led training of the Congolese army in 2012.
The $14,000 trip included visits to the project sites that Affleck's organization funds. The projects, which range from coffee plantations to rehabilitation centers, are one of ECI's ways of engaging with the community while restoring peace in these two war-torn nations.
Affleck's group hosted a Senate delegation in August, including Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). The "Good Will Hunting" actor, who is actively involved in Democratic campaigns, was speculated to run for the Massachusetts special election last year but opted out.
