Congress Gets an Upgrade – WSJ.com — Free spending Democrats are out to prove they can be worse than the Republicans.
Congress plans to spend $550 million to buy eight jets, a substantial upgrade to the fleet used by federal officials at a time when lawmakers have criticized the use of corporate jets by companies receiving taxpayer funds.The purchases will help accommodate growing travel demand by congressional officials. The planes augment a fleet of about two dozen passenger jets maintained by the Air Force for lawmakers, administration officials and military chiefs to fly on government trips in the U.S. and abroad.The congressional shopping list goes beyond what the Air Force had initially requested as part of its annual appropriations
Found by Guilherme Cherman.
Stimulous package?
Actually, though the split isn’t required to be published, word from the Hill is that the extras were truly bi-partisan: 50% Democrats 50% Republicans.
Unity in Congress.
Good news for Savannah, Georgia!
Misleading headline.
The ‘new’ planes in question are actually part of the Military Airlift Command, and are used for transport of military and government VIPs, including military commanders and their staff.
As the military puts it, it makes much more sense to transport a 3 star general and his staff of 5+ people on this type of plane than trying to route them via commercial aircraft through multiple airports for multiple meetings.
The aircraft are part of the The 89th Airlift Wing, which provides “global Special Air Mission (SAM) airlift, logistics, aerial port and communications for the President, Vice President, Combat Commanders, senior leaders and the global mobility system.
Regarding the headline on this blog entry, one of the three airplanes is a direct replacement of an existing aged aircraft, the other two are accelerated purchases as replacements for aircraft that are reaching their service life.
The members of congress with the highest ‘frequent flyer miles’ on this type of transportation… care to guess the political party?…. U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert [R-Ill.] and [then-Senate Armed Services Chairman] John Warner [R-Va.]
Is it part of the cash for clunkers program?
They could disable the engines on the clunkers by reving them up on the flight line and throwing a Canada goose into each one.
#4 how old are these “facts?” Hastert has not been speaker of the house for three years. Oh wait..He resigned in 2007!! He was a disgrace. Cripes.
The article states they are replacements for aging planes (which would indicate cheaper to run since older planes cost more in fuel and upkeep usually.)
What annoys me with articles like this (and Dvorak blog too) is that there are NO links to the actual legislation — and the charts just state the source as “congressional records”. We are on the web dammit, I want LINKS to those records and statements.
You too John.
Maybe they’re getting a deal on used planes from Chrysler/Ford/GM?
When I see what Washington, D.C. does with our money, I’m certain it’s too make the Chinese looks brillant. From the Guardian (UK), an example we should copy:
The former head of Beijing airport’s management company was executed today after his conviction on corruption charges, state media reported.
An intermediate court found 60-year-old Li Peiying guilty in February of accepting almost £2.4m in bribes and embezzling about £7.2m in public funds over the past 14 years, the Xinhua news agency said.
Li was executed after the supreme court upheld a lower court’s rejection of his appeal, Xinhua said. The report did not say when the supreme court ruled and it did not describe the method of execution.
China has long struggled against corruption among high-level Communist party officials, especially in state-owned enterprises in energy, transport and other key sectors that wield vast power and influence.
In 2007, China executed the director of its food and drug agency for approving fake medicine in exchange for cash. One antibiotic was blamed for causing the deaths of at least 10 people.
——
If this solution is implimented, in Washington, D.C. there would be plenty of room for our former-Mexican citizens!
#7 it’s a friggin’ blog. We link to interesting articles and make wisecracks. We’re not a research company. Look it up. Google it. You can do it as easily as I can.
#4
Actually Nancy Pelosi spends the most taxpayer money. Given her normal duties, vacations and trips between Washington and San Francisco, she now leads the pack.
There needs to be a check and balance on congressional spending. Maybe if each spending item was required to be a separate bill, the President could veto all the stupid stuff.
The ruling elite knows what is best for itself and for us. Everything they do is for our good, not theirs. It is Un-American for us to think otherwise.
In other words, all Americans are equal, but some are more equal than others…
Kinda puts Palin’s wardrobe in perspective doesn’t it.
# 10 John C Dvorak said
“#7 it’s a friggin’ blog. We link to interesting articles and make wisecracks. We’re not a research company. Look it up. Google it. You can do it as easily as I can.”
I used to think it was a technology blog. Now it is just a place where the left and the right come to duke it out with mixed results and punctuated by the stupid screaming person car commercial. 😉
FWIW
According to Appropriations panel spokesman Brachman, members of Congress have been responsible for just one in seven of the flights, with Pentagon brass, White House officials and other Cabinet executives taking up the rest.
I remove my wisecrack about principal uses as made in #4, because it makes perfect sense that the most senior staff in the US government be using these aircraft for their transportation. If the CEO of Pepsi needs the use of the equivalent of this type of plane, it sure makes sense that the third in line in the US government would.
But that doesn’t change the fact that one is a replacement and two are accelerated replacements.
Change you can believe in.
From the article:
Mr. Brachman said Air Force’s passenger planes were mostly used by military officials, the White House and other members of the Executive Branch. Over the past five years, 44% of the use of the planes has been for the military, 42% for the administration and 14.5% for members of Congress, Mr. Brachman said.
If Congress uses these planes only 14.5% of the time, the headline “Congress Goes Nuts Buying New Hot Jets For Itself” is misleading and inflammatory.
Bob Novak wrote about how when the Republicans took over in 1994, they talked about eliminating perks for Congress, so their special parking lot with the sign
Reserved for Members of Congress
disappeared.
After that you had a parking lot with the sign
Reserved
#15. We’re still a tech blog….see Uncle Dave’s latest post on DIY Mac Repair.
http://dvorak.org/blog/2009/08/07/repairing-your-mac-using-only-a-hammer-by-rapper-actor-ice-t/comment-page-1/#comment-1561465
The 737 costs $5,700-an-hour
Round trip: DC to San Francisco will cost at least $62,700
Comparison: a round trip First Class ticket $1,417
Nancy Pelosi could buy 40 round trip First Class tickets to go home and still spend less than one flight on her brand new 737.
Actually Nancy gets to ride in the even more expensive 757.
According to the WSJ
The congressional shopping list goes beyond what the Air Force had initially requested as part of its annual appropriations. The Pentagon sought to buy one Gulfstream V and one business-class equivalent of a Boeing 737 to replace aging planes. The Defense Department also asked to buy two additional 737s that were being leased.
Lawmakers in the House last week added funds to buy those planes, and plus funds to buy an additional two 737s and two Gulfstream V planes.
Unless y’all can show evidence of equal criticism of Republican House Speakers, this is just more mindless wingnut propaganda.
It’s certain preferable that the government is spending money to indulge congressman instead of private lobbying groups doing so. I see this as the much lesser of two evils.
#23, All Republican House Speakers were crappy as well.
There.
—Unless y’all can show evidence of equal criticism of Republican House Speakers, this is just more mindless wingnut propaganda.–
Hey Phytard,
So buying Gulfstreams in the middle of a huge budget crisis is only wrong if your opponents were also criticized. If they weren’t criticized, then this spending is a good idea..ok, got it.
I’m glad the adult are now in charge, making rational decisions based on the needs of the country. I’m proud that my Mom will not get her heart meds so Nancy Pelosi can fly home for the weekend.
It ain’t only Republican nutcases who think this is bad…this is NOT what I voted for.
#26, this is NOT what I voted for.
Unfortunately, it is.
Did you really think things would change simply because that was Obama’s campaign slogan?
Oh boy… US people are so screwed. Didn’t some terrorist say the US will collapse on itself? Yea, whomever said that is a damn prophet.
I have mixed feelings.
First, I really don’t mind that our leaders have private jets to take them on official government-mandated trips. When that Congressional committee sets down in Aruba for a week’s intensive discussions on the practice of beach democracy, I want them to be seen arriving in a USA-logo jet.
OTOH, when Ms Pelosi flies home to San Fran, I’d feel much more comfortable knowing that even a first class seat can get a bit clammy during a 5 hour tarmac hold. And how will she feel about that $20 first bag fee? Looking at Fancy Nancy, I suspect she travels with several bags. I’d like to see her forced to collect receipts and beg for reimbursements. When I fly on US Gov business, that’s what they insist on from me. Except I don’t get a first class seat. I get steerage.
#22 Actually, Speaker Pelosi usually rides to the west coast and back in the C-37 (Gulfstream V) and not the C-40 (737). $3000/hr vs the $5700/hr. What always surprised me is that almost no GOP members ride with her. Its usually full of Democrats and spouses.