Air Congress Hits Turbulence

Congressional scandals form a pattern. First, there is the revelation that some members have acted in a high-handed, spendthrift or unethical manner. Then public anger flares, and Congress responds by belatedly tamping down the controversy.

Most of the time this is the end of it. But every once in a while the scandal continues to burn and consumes a few members. That's what happened in 1994 when the House Bank and Post Office scandals helped fuel the Republican takeover of Congress, and in 2006 when the Jack Abramoff and earmark scandals helped end GOP control.

House leaders hope that dropping plans to spend $550 million on elite Gulfstream jets to fly members around the globe will dissipate public ire.