As Civil Beat reported this week, Rep. Colleen Hanabusa made the most trips back to her district compared with her fellow Hawaii congressional delegates over the last year — 14 roundtrips between Washignton, D.C., and the Islands from January 2011 to January 2012.

What about other members of Congress who hail from far-flung districts? A spokeswoman in the office of Alaska Sen. Mark Begich said he made 18 trips to Alaska in 2011.  

“Our goal is as often as possible, but it is dictated by Senate schedule, votes, etc.,” the spokeswoman said in an email sent to Civil Beat. “It varies. But he travels a lot!!”

Begich’s colleague in the House — Alaska Rep. Don Young — was in the spotlight last year for his frequent time away from Washington. Young had missed 16 percent of congressional votes last year at the time that the New York Times published a story about his record in October, according to the newspaper. 

What do you think of congressional travel habits? Are Hawaii’s members of Congress getting home enough, too much or just the right amount?