Posted on 02/07/2007 5:42:02 PM PST by Hadean
A source close to the controversy over the request made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for use of a military plane that can fly to and from her home district in San Francisco, Calif., without having to stop to refuel, tells ABC News that the Pentagon has rebuffed Pelosi's request.
The source says that Pentagon officials and the Bush administration have instead offered Pelosi use of the same plane made available to former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois: a C-20, which seats about 12 passengers and five crew members.
A C-20 can make the 700-mile flight to Hastert's Aurora, Ill., district easily but would generally have to stop to refuel to complete the 2,800-mile trip from Washington D.C. to the San Francisco Bay Area, depending on the headwinds.
Pelosi has expressed concern about having to stop and refuel, primarily for security reasons, her office says. Since 9/11, the Speaker of the House — second in line behind the Vice President in the line of presidential succession — has been able to use a military plane for travel, for security reasons.
In response to the Pentagon offer, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly tells ABC News, "We appreciate the Defense Department's continuing concern for the Speaker's security. We are reviewing their letter."
The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19) establishes the order of succession to the Presidency in the event neither a President nor Vice President is able to "discharge the powers and duties of the office."
The authority for Congress to do this is in Article II, section 1, clause 6 of the Constitution: "In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected." (Modified somewhat by Amendments XX and XXV.)
The order of succession:
Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Well, she ought to fly the commercial airlines then. Her federal union members have done a fine job of insuring the security for all of us. Or doesn't she trust the TSA schlubs that we're supposed to trust?
Ahh....couldn't we at least offer her the use of a V-22 Osprey?
Gee, Nance, if you don't like the plane that belongs to "we the people", spend some of your own money to buy the plane you want. That takes all the pressure off of you looking like a a spoiled, whining, entitlement-oriented political elitist.
The witch can just move closer to DC if she wants the job.
What a typical crybaby rat.
Suprised she didn't demand the space shuttle.
who the hell is she kidding . nancy wanted this huge plane to use for 2008 election and helping the dems strategists get a jump on the rnc.
What make Speaker Peosli hot stuff that she don't want go on commerical airline HELLO what her botox would melt on commerical
Why do we have to pay to fly these filthy carpetbaggers anyway? let her take a horse and carriage back to her district like the real congress did.
I heard she wanted room for 40 plus people, plus a bed. The cost would have been over $300,000 per trip!
That C-20 (what us sillyvilians know as a Gulfstream III or IV) might indeed have to stop and refuel if flying westbound against the prevailing easterly winds at high altitude, if carrying a full load of passengers. To which I say...so what? There's plenty of nice secure Air Force bases that she could stop at along the way to pick up some jet fuel. And the two Speys on that thing burn one HELL of a lot less fuel than a pair of PW2037s or PW2040s on a 757! After all, Nance, gotta watch the carbon footprint those cute pumps are leaving behind, eh?
}:-)4
I imagine in the past she used some democrat's aircraft to transdport her little self to and from dc to sf. Or...she could use hillarie's broom.
General characteristics (gulfstream III=C20D)
* Crew: Captain, Co-Pilot, Crew Chief
* Capacity: Twenty-six
* Length: 88 ft 4 in (25.35 m)
* Wingspan: 77 ft 10 in (23.72 m)
* Height: 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
* Empty weight: 38,000 lb (17,237 kg)
* Loaded weight: 69,700 lb (31,615 kg)
* Useful load: 31,000 lb (14,061 kg)
* Max takeoff weight: 69,700 lb (31,615 kg)
* Powerplant: Two× SPEY-MK511-8 Turbofan, 11,400 lbf (50.7 kN) each
Performance
* Maximum speed: knots (mph, km/h)
* Cruise speed: 459 knots (528 mph, 850 km/h)
* Stall speed: 105 knots (121 mph, 194 km/h)
* Range: 3,767 nm (4,335 mi, 6,976 km)
* Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,716 m)
* Rate of climb: 4,049 ft/min (20.6 m/s)
Thats pretty close to never making it to california on one hop, due to the jet stream and added weight of other 'rats and luggage.
How about a C-47? It's small, just her size.
Excellent Smithers.....let the B one TCH take a broom stick with shrillary.
I think she has Broom OMGGG you know what they use for theme song any time they talk about Nancy Pelosi on local SO Cal talk show station KFI 640am WITCHY WOMAN from the Eagles I am serious ROFL LMAO
Speaking of that ROFL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrz_5js3NfE
"Her majesty". She is impressed with herself! If the GOP wakes up and does the will of the people not the "boys", the Dems may shoot themselves in the fppt by 2008
The reason that Pelosi wants a 757, is so that she and the Dems can conduct their own foreign policy on the tax payer's dime. She and her posse are just back from Iraq, and they just got the bills.
Can you say "Sticker Shock"?
The Democrats do not have anywhere near the pool of Corporate Donors able to foot the bill for her heinous whenever she feels the need to drop in on a foreign country with the press in tow, so she can bash the Admininstration.
While it is true that prevailing winds at altitude would make it dicey for her to travel non-stop from east to west, the C-20 is capable of inflight refueling, so she would never have to touch down.
But, the C-20 does NOT set standards for comfort or plush surroundings, and there is no privacy to speak of, so she could not drag Democrat big-wigs around and not expect the crew to be out of earshot.
FACT: Pelosi and Murtha want to get their hands on a big enough jet, not to travel coast-to-coast, but continent to continent on YOUR dime, with all of her media buddies along, so that she can go anywhere in the world she wants to conduct a Democrat foreign policy.
I now return to lurker status.
See ya.
The plane she wanted is the same plane that Condi takes to the middle east. It has 42 seats and a bedroom.
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