The Obamas wave as they board Air Force One after family vacation,
Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Honolulu, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Obama family travel, vacations, cross $85 million mark
The first family has spent over $10 million a year on travel and vacations, and the still growing bill has crossed over $85 million in eight years, according to Judicial Watch from a new batch of bills for the first family's Christmas break in Hawaii, bringing that trip to nearly $5 million. The expenses cover items such as security, flights and hotel rooms for staff and U.S. Secret Service. They do not include the price of prepositioning ships and aircraft in the area or much of the communications costs.
Judicial Watch announced today that it obtained records from the U.S. Secret Service revealing that its travel expenses for the First Family's 2015 Hawaiian vacation cost taxpayers $1.2 million, which bring the total cost of the vacation trip to at least $4.8 million. This was the Obamas' eighth Hawaiian family vacation. The trip has become an annual event for the Obamas. To date, Obama's and his family's travel expenses total at least $85,029,819.
The records obtained by Judicial Watch for Obama's Secret Service travel to Hawaii reveal the following expenses totaling $1,234,316.67:
Hotel and lodging costs totaled $1,000,458.63.
The Secret Service spent $165,893.88 on car rentals.
Air and rail expenses totaled $67,964.16.
Although the vacation officially lasted from December 18, 2015, to January 3, 2016, the Secret Service rented several Kailua homes for 19 nights, starting from December 16. The total for the rentals, located near the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay was $245,993.12.
According to bills obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Secret Service also paid for rooms at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club. The Secret Service also reserved rooms at the Moana Surfrider resort on Waikiki Beach, and the Ala Moana Hotel, which cost a total of $40,249.48 and $671,895.99, respectively.
The Secret Service rented cars from Avis, Alamo, and Hertz – 103 cars for the two-week vacation, totaling $165,893.88 in taxpayer money.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-family-travel-vacations-cross-85-million-mark/article/2608882