From the Star-Ledger, January 26, 2012:

Lawmakers, lobbyists and businesspeople this morning will continue the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s 75-year strong tradition: a four-hour chartered train trek to Washington, D.C. for networking and a speech from the governor.

But as the Ledger notes, some organizations, including NJPP, “have criticized the networking trip as an exclusive “schmooze cruise” of insiders who drop more than $560 for tickets to the two-day event.”

NJPP president Deborah Howlett says of the trip: “It costs a lot to get on the train and you’re buying access to the governor and his staff, the lawmakers. … It’s a tradition in New Jersey in the tradition of New Jersey.”