Posted on 02/01/2007 11:27:35 AM PST by InvisibleChurch
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office is pressing the White House for routine access to military aircraft for not only herself and her staff, but for relatives and other members of the California delegation as well.
A knowledgeable Washington, D.C. source called the request "carte blanche for an aircraft any time."
Another source told the Washington Times: "They are pressing the point of her succession and that the [Department of Defense] needs to play ball with the speaker's needs.”
The request originally went to the Pentagon, which passed it along to the White House.
Pelosi's request for military aircraft access is not the first from a speaker, who is second in line in presidential succession.
The speaker gained regular access to military planes after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who was speaker at the time, began using U.S. Air Force planes for travel to and from his district for security reasons. But a former aide told the Times that Hastert did not use military planes to regularly transport his family, and Pelosi's request goes beyond what Hastert received.
Pelosi has used military aircraft for at least one trip back to her San Francisco district.
U.S. Air Force travel for members of Congress is first-rate, according to the Times. The aircraft are staffed with stewards who serve meals and tend an open bar, and communications suites allow members to conduct business while traveling.
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.
"Oops! Sorry Nancy, didn't realize you were sitting on the bomb bay doors when we opened them!!"
I would. The can pay their own way on commercial aircraft. It's not like they aren't rolling in money anyway. Space A is for active duty, their families as well as retirees and their families, not for fat cat CongressCritters.
For official government business travel, they can get a travel authorization and fly commercial on the taxpayer
Airmen not soldiers. Occasionally Navy or Marine Aviation types.
To-may-to, to-mah-to ;-)
http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/overview.asp?type=W&cycle=2005&filter=H
I can hardly stomach the thought of free air travel for her much less her family. The answer is a big fat "NO".
Her highness don't play dat. We're talking first-class outfitted, on-demand private jet stuff here.
For her as speaker, fine, as operational requirements permit. For the rest of her band of degenerates they should pay their own way.
Shove the flying monkey up her arse and she'll travel twice as fast.
Reminds me of that 1993 joke:
Q. How come no Halloween and Thanksgiving in Little Rock this year?A. Because the witch flew out of town and took the turkey with her.
How about they put her in the rear seat of a jet fighter, you know, the one with a barf bag.
See my reply #64 (also reply #69) and links to several articles on the earlier thread here.
They are "better" than us...
All members of Congress should ride coach on a commercial airline.
To stop this...just have the AF procure 40 x dual-engine prop-jobs...and offer free flights but it must be over 600 miles to make it economically feasible. Pelosi will halt her use of flights overnight...after a 12-hour flight on a prop-job to get back to San Fran.
Don't believe for a minute that dame Nancy would tolerate the uncertainties of space-A for anyone she even knew moderately well.
Simply authorizing military flight by any congressionally linked civilian would guarantee first class treatment and would not, repeat - not, involve a C-130 or jumping basse to base in the local hack.
THE FLYING SQUIRREL!
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