WASHINGTON - The daughter of US Representative William D. Delahunt of Quincy, one of the leading supporters of a $1.3 billion aid package for Colombia, works as a public relations consultant for the government of the South American nation.

Kara Delahunt, 28, joined the firm now called Weber Shandwick in 1998 as an account assistant, a year after her father became a member of Congress. In September 1999, she registered as a representative of a foreign government. Three weeks later, Weber Shandwick signed a contract to work on behalf of Colombia, according to reports filed with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The contract was worth about $350,000 in 2002.

Kara Delahunt said she handles press relations for the Colombian Embassy and arranges meetings between Colombian and US officials. In 2000, she was promoted to an account associate, and later to her current position of senior associate.

'It certainly has a very bad odor to it. ... A lot of people have died as a result of Plan Colombia.

Sanho Tree Institute for Policy Studies

Representative Delahunt, a member of the House International Relations Committee, is among the most active members of Congress on Colombian issues. The Democrat said he has traveled to the country between five and 10 times. He was one of the lead Democratic supporters of Plan Colombia, a $1.3 billion aid package that Congress passed in July 2000 and made the country the third-largest recipient of American aid. Last week, President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia met with Delahunt, House Democratic l eader Nancy Pelosi of California, and a handful of other lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Kara Delahunt said she helped plan Uribe's visit but did not play a lead role and did not arrange the meeting. A spokesman for the Colombian Embassy said Weber Shandwick prepared briefing papers that were distributed to Colombian officials before the meeting.

Representative Delahunt and Kara Delahunt say her work at Weber Shandwick does not create a conflict of interest.

''What my father does has no correlation with what I do for the embassy,'' Kara Delahunt said.

Of his daughter's work for Colombia, Delahunt said: ''We have discussed it, but not in any depth.''

There are no specific rules barring relatives of Congress members from working for foreign governments. But the Code of Ethics for Government Service states that a member of government should ''never accept for himself or his family, favors or benefits under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons as influencing the performance of his governmental duties.''

''The question is whether Congressman Delahunt provided special favors to his daughter or her client, the Colombian government,'' said Gary Ruskin, director of the Congressional Accountability Project. ''He needs to show that his decisions were made based on facts, and not influence brought to bear by his daughter.''

Delahunt said he has made his decisions independently. He called the fact that his daughter's work overlaps with one of his major interests ''serendipitous.''

Still, some government-reform groups have pointed to the hiring of relatives of Congress members as a route around ethics rules on conflicts of interest.

Other members of Congress have come under criticism for their relatives' lobbying. In 1996, the Congressional Accountability Project filed a complaint against current House majority leader Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, because his brother Randy was then working as a lobbyist for a Mexican cement company involved in a trade dispute with the United States. That complaint was dismissed.

Linda Daschle, wife of Senate Democratic leader Thomas A. Daschle of South Dakota, has been one of the lead lobbyists for the airline industry for parts of the last two decades. Joshua Hastert, son of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois, currently works as a lobbyist for Federal Legislative Associates.

Delahunt has said that he became interested in Colombia as a result of his 20-year career as district attorney in Norfolk County, a career in which he dealt extensively with drug-related crimes. He also believes that the United States has a special responsibility because of domestic demand for Colombian drugs.

James Meszaros, Kara Delahunt's boss at Weber Shandwick, said he told her that she should not discuss her work with her father or anyone working in Congress.

Delahunt has voted against the interests of the Colombian Embassy on several recent issues. In early April, he supported an amendment cosponsored by Representative James P. McGovern, Democrat of Worcester, that would have cut military aid for Colombia from a bill funding the war in Iraq.

Still, some advocacy groups who work on issues concerning Colombia insist that Delahunt is too close to the embassy, and note that Plan Colombia was by far the most important piece of legislation passed in recent years concerning that country. Plan Colombia was controversial because it provided military aid, including 14 Black Hawk helicopters, at least 33 Huey helicopters, and training for three 900-person counternarcotics battalions.

''He unleashed the hounds and years later wants to make sure that no one gets bitten,'' said Sanho Tree, a fellow at the liberal Institute for Policy Studies who has opposed providing military aid to Colombia.

Said Tree of Kara Delahunt's work for the Colombian government: ''It certainly has a very bad odor to it. ... A lot of people have died as a result of Plan Colombia.''

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