Senator Thune and Other Senators Oppose Fat Cat Jet Spending Spree
File photo (Credit: Yukari)
Liberals in congress tell us the American people must tighten their belts. Liberals in congress tell private businesses they must tighten their belts.
But when it comes to what liberals believe our government should do, it’s time to…buy a bigger pair of pants!
From KABC-TV:
Members of Congress have spent a lot of time recently telling business executives to tone down their spending in the midst of a recession. But now there is a spending bill making its way through Congress that includes tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for airplanes to fly members of congress.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Congress is poised to spend $550 million dollars to buy eight new corporate jets, three of which are the highest performing passenger jets in the world. The Gulfstream 550 is similar to the planes Congress criticized the CEOs of automakers for using.
Congress is mandating that two of the new planes be assigned to the Andrews Air Force Base unit that flies government VIPs, including members of congress.
While the House seems eager to waste the taxpayer’s money in any way possible, including fancy jets that aren’t needed, opposition to this wasteful spending is mounting in the Senate.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“The whole thing kind of makes me sick to my stomach,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) in an interview Sunday. “It is evidence that some of the cynicism about Washington is well placed — that people get out of touch and they spend money like it’s Monopoly money.”
Several other senators said they share the concerns and will work to oppose the funding for the jets when the legislation is taken up by the Senate in September, including Sens. John McCain (R., Ariz.,) Jack Reed (D., R.I.), Richard Burr (R., N.C.), Christopher Bond (R., Mo.) and John Thune (R., S.D.).
The funding for new planes is “a classic example of Congress being out of touch with the realities of deficit spending,” said Mr. Thune.
You can usually count on Senator Thune to call out wasteful spending like this. Even Senator McCaskill seems to be getting with the program after some run-ins with angry taxpayers outraged at taking a back seat to gross government spending.
If our senators and representatives need to travel so much, they can just fly coach on commercial flights like most Americans do, unless they want to pay for the special priviledges out of their own pocket like other private fliers do. People in congress work for the people; the people don’t work to supply them with perks and frills.
They may think they are “more equal” than the rest of us, but they are sorely mistaken. And the American people are reminding them of that this August recess.
UPDATE: Apparently the public outrage and senate opposition over these jets has led to the House deciding not to feed the fat cats anymore. Fox News reports the House leadership has dropped the plans. Kitty was way too overweight, anyway.
Video from KABC-TV:
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