House Orders Three Jets [Pelosi's idea of "public transportation"]

Political Wire ^ | August 05, 2009

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) had submitted a request to the Appropriations Committee for a $70 million earmark for one airplane on behalf of Georgia-based Gulfstream, and Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) lists the airplane as one of the earmarks that he was asked to request, though his office said he never made the request to the Appropriations Committee.

“The committee saw fit to fund it at that level” without Kingston’s involvement, his spokesman said.”

“Ellis said the airplanes are also part of a larger trend for the Appropriations Committee to simply decide that big-ticket items are program increases, not earmarks, so they require less public disclosure.

“The more that you push for transparency, the more of this stuff goes underneath the carpet,” Ellis said. While Congress has established new rules requiring greater transparency for earmarks, the Appropriations Committee is “the judge, jury and executioner over what is an earmark and what isn’t and how much information we get.”’

http://www.rollcall.com/media/37552-1.html

[paul51]

That’s really not fair to Republicans. The planes were included in a Defense spending bill.

Yeah, I'm sure they screamed bloody hell

[Timeout]

The Soviet Union had an elite too

The Nomenklatura! We should use that!

(See my tagline...it's been there forever.....)

[Timeout]

correct tag spelling

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

“Thompson pointed out that the cost of the plane would be peanuts compared to the cost to the nation if a top official were taken hostage or harmed taking a commercial flight to a dangerous region of the world.”

When has this happened ? This is about taveling in style,nothing more. I only know of one incident when Con. Leo Ryan flew to Jonestown and it wouldn’t have mattered if he was on a bi-plane.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

I forgot Ron Brown From Wikipedia "On April 3, 1996, while on an official trade mission, the Air Force CT-43 (a modified Boeing 737) carrying Brown and 34 other people, including New York Times Frankfurt Bureau chief Nathaniel C. Nash, crashed in Croatia. While attempting an instrument approach to Čilipi airport, the airplane crashed into a mountainside. Everyone aboard was killed instantly except Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shelley Kelly, a flight attendant, who died while being transported to a hospital.[2] The final Air Force investigation attributed the crash to pilot error and a poorly designed landing approach.[3]" I guess the air force owning the plane doesn't solve all the problems.

[Timeout]

...if a top official were taken hostage...

He seems to think we would want them back. Whazzup with THAT?!

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

LOL good point.

[Hildy]

Oh, so you’re saying it’s ok that the Republicans don’t read the bills, huh?

[Timeout]

Did I say that? Must have been delirious or something!