Taxpayers fund a first-class congressional foreign travel boom-up 24% in 2015

Looks like bipartisanship can happen when jumping on a plane for a trip, first class of course. At over $10,000 a ticket, why not. Tax payers are flipping the bill.

Congress has an unlimited tax payer credit card when it comes to traveling. With no spending limit there is no surprise that in 2015 there was a surge in the flights that cost over $10,000 per ticket.

www.usatoday.com...
Congress does not pay for its own flights. Under a Korean War-era statute that was updated in the 1970s, the Treasury Department is directed to pay for congressional trips overseas from whatever funds it has available. Congress does not have to approve spending for its foreign travel each year, and there is no set dollar limit.

Most tax payers will never fly first class over seas, but taxpayers paid for 557 such trips each costing more than $10,000 for congress or a staffer.

Most taxpayers will never pay $10,000 in flights for an overseas trip, but in the year prior to the 2016 election, taxpayers paid for 557 such trips that each cost more than $10,000 for a member of Congress or a staffer.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., was part of a group of four GOP congressmen and three staff members who spent $90,000 on a five-day trip to Albania for a NATO summit in May 2016.

This global hopping trips are up over 40%, that is the $10,000 variety. Keep in mind less than .02% of the public purchase such expensive tickets.

Those five-digit global itineraries made up 40% of all individual congressional trips for which travel costs were publicly reported. By comparison, less than 0.2% of tickets purchased by the general public through U.S. travel agencies in 2015 and 2016 were more than $10,000, according to the Airlines Reporting Corp.

The pricey flights were part of a surge in foreign travel. Congress spent at least $14.7 million on taxpayer-funded trips in fiscal year 2016, a 24% increase over the year before, according to Congress’ own accounting.

Oct 2015, house financial services chairman Jeb Hensarling and 6 other lawmakers spent almost $100,000 on a week long trip to Germany, Switzerland, and England. Oh thats with no airfare. Cool Huh.

In October 2015, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling and six other lawmakers accompanied by six staff members racked up $98,613 in expenses on a weeklong trip to Germany, Switzerland and England — with no airfare, according to the report in the Congressional Record.

The real problem in the world. Fat cats on both sides of the aisle, continue to glut at the trough while the plebes fight amongst themselves and pay for it all.

a reply to: BlueJacket

Yep, and life time health care and a $$$ monthly check for the rest of their life.

This kind of stuff has been going on for a long time, it is nothing new. Maybe the prices are going up a bit for the flights, but many of these high political people have always flown first class. A lot of senators just fly regular coach when they fly to and from Washington or to functions. Actually the majority of Senators fly coach I think. I wonder if there are ways to check which ones blow the money on expensive flights.

When these people go overseas, they usually blow quite a bit of money on their trips. I suppose they get the best rooms within their budget limits. Most people on work related trips go for the best for what they are allowed.

a reply to: seasonal

Well, when the fox is guarding the hen house what else can we all expect? They work for us, but set rules for themselves. How does that work? ...And everyone wonders why our representatives are still working into their 70's and 80's? With benefits like that, who would want to retire?

a reply to: seasonal

I say cut their travel budgets out and teach them all to use skype. Why should we pay for any government official to travel anywhere these days? There are phones and real time videos. Make 'em get with the technology. They'll have far more time to work if they aren't spending hours sitting in airports. Same for state and local governments. Our state government has already begun programs to cut down on official travel for meeting and are holding them via conference call or skype.

a reply to: diggindirt

I can understand when there is a need for a face to face. But $10,000 a ticket. Skype is a viable option, but if they want to fly 1at class, let them pay for it. We are 19,000,000,000,000 + in debt, screw em. Business or coach.

a reply to: seasonal

Oh, no doubt there are times when face-to-face is reasonable but it should be the exception rather than the norm. They've come to think themselves "elite."