A private foundation has paid $60,000 since 2008 to underwrite international prayer trips by Rep. Robert Aderholt, chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees USDA, reports Roll Call. Aderholt told the newspaper there was “absolutely nothing” improper in the travel. “Only in Washington would a story come out and you would be reluctant to go to a prayer breakfast.” The Center for Responsive Politics said the sponsor of the trips, International Foundation, was funded by an Arkansas poultry company, Mountaire Corp., whose chief financial officer is the president of the foundation. Aderholt told Roll Call that he believes Mountaire has no operations in his home state of Alabama. The USDA is in charge of meat inspection, among its many other duties.