Congress Gets Upgraded AIRPLANES!, page 1
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Topic started on 7-8-2009 @ 08:29 PM by Roadblockx

Congress Gets Upgraded AIRPLANES!


online.wsj.com
WASHINGTON -- Congress plans to spend $550 million to buy eight jets, a substantial upgrade to the fleet used by federal officials at a time when lawmakers have criticized the use of corporate jets by companies receiving taxpayer funds.

The purchases will help accommodate growing travel demand by congressional officials. The planes augment a fleet of about two dozen passenger jets maintained by the Air Force for lawmakers, administration officials and military chiefs to fly on government trips in the U.S. and abroad.

The congressional shopping list goes beyond what the Air Force had init
(visit the link for the full news article)


reply posted on 7-8-2009 @ 11:18 PM by ProtoplasmicTraveler
Though it's been a few years back in the late 1980's and early 1990's I worked as a professional Travel Agent and a number of my clients where U.S. Congress People.

They always travelled full fare coach per Congressional Policy since many discount tickets would not allow for changes in travel dates or times.

The airlines would typically upgrade them using their own frequent flyer miles or in some select cases just a good will gesture. If a flight had Business Class they were upgraded into Business Class if had no Business Class they were upgraded at no cost to the Tax Payer to First Class.

Congress people, especially those on Committees and especially ranking members of Committees and Chair Persons of Committees often end up travelling overseas and often to places Commerical Flights travel very infrequently or not at all.

Some destinations in Africa, the old Soviet Union, and parts of the Middle East are very hard to get in and out of on Commercial Flights, very often Congressional Jets are used for Congressional Fact Finding missions for instance the California Congressman who died investigating Jones Town flew down to Guyana on a Congressional Jet because of limited commercial service.

Commercial Service to some places in the world is not daily but weekly, if you flew in commercial on Thursday you aren't going to get out until next Thursday unless you want to take six busses 4 camels 3 canoes 2 trains and 1 pack mule through 3 third world countries to catch a commercial flight back to the U.S. sooner.

Hey I could put it all together for you if you needed to go that route and find you a nice thatched roof hut to stay in here and there along the way.

I don't believe under any circumstances does any single Congress Person or Senator get to take a government jet as a sole passenger back and forth from their district.

They are used by Congressional Delegations on fact finding missions...

How did I get so many Congress People as clients you might ask...The Powers that Be referred them to me, because I really could get you six busses 4 camels 3 canoes 2 trains and 1 pack mule through 3 third world countries to catch a commercial flight back to the U.S. sooner.

It's a small world, but not so small that having a Jet lying about here or there doesn't come in handy at times!


reply posted on 8-8-2009 @ 12:01 AM by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


I understand that, but is it not hypocrisy, considering they chastised the auto company heads for using private jets and not flying coach?


[edit on 8/8/2009 by Lemon.Fresh]


reply posted on 8-8-2009 @ 12:45 AM by ProtoplasmicTraveler
Originally posted by Lemon.Fresh
reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


I understand that, but is it not hypocrisy, considering they chastised the auto company heads for using private jets and not flying coach?


[edit on 8/8/2009 by Lemon.Fresh]


They rarely use those jets domestically though, most often internationally or when a group of congress people really have official business that they have to travel to as a group.

Some congress people will serve their entire terms, even multiple terms without ever getting on a congressional jet.

If you are the Chairman of say Asian Economic Development and you are going to take a trade delegation of American businessmen to say Jakarta chances are you are going to request to use a Congressional Jet by asking the Congressional Travel Office if you can use it.

You are likely doing it for two reasons, no American flagged carrier gets there anywhere remotely on your schedule or your delegation is to large to be equitably accomodated on the same commercial flight, in other words it's you and 30 other people, and business class only olds 15, first class only holds 10, and there aren't 30 seats left available in coach.

Lets say you are on the armed services committee and you want to get into Iraq with 40 people in your delegation or Afghanistan, the comercial flights just don't exist.

Congress People really do travel to some out of the way destinations and as the Town Hall Meetings demonstrate but really the best example is Senator Geary in the God Father II movie shaking down Michael Corleone and saying "Look lets cut to the chase, I really don't want to be here one second longer than I have too".

They never do want to be any where one second longer than they have too either, even if it's a wife, mistress or homosexual lover they are meeting with.

These people have to fleece a lot of people in one day! Time is money you know.

The reality is they really do need private Jet aircraft on select and limited basis to conduct their business.

If Nancy Pelosi asked the Travel Office for a Jet to go to New Mexico for the day to see an arts and craft fair they would say no. If she wanted it to make a campaign trip they would say no.

If she wanted to take the Congressional Blue Dogs to the Lyndon B Johnson Library for the afternoon to dedicate a new building there, they would probably say yes, if no one ranking on an important committee didn't need it for more important business.

These jets are only at their disposal when it makes economic or logistic sense.

Everything still has to go through the Government Accounting Office afterwards and if it's cheaper and just as efficient to load up 10 people coach on a flight, than it is to fuel a jet and pay a pilot and flight crew then they really are going commercial if it's available.

There are over 500 congress people and a 100 senators and a pool of what a dozen jets? Do the math.

I can tell you this once Christopher Cox former Congressman of Newport Beach and former Head of the Securities and Exchange Commission asked me to book a flight for Alan Keyes from Baltimore Maryland to Costa Mesa California to appear at a campaign dinner, which Chris said to bill him personally for and not the Treasury Department. When Keyes called me he insisted he would only attend if he was going to be flown first class, at the time Keyes headed a not-for-profit corporation named "Citizens against Government Waste". I told Chris he was being difficult and he said "Screw him, tell him he goes coach or stays home" he ended up getting Peter Ueberoth to speak instead who drove down on his own dime from San Francisco.

These guys really take congressional travel policies very seriously.

There are lots of special interests groups that will fly them by private jet or first class if they really want to go some place that way, they don't need the government to pamper them.

All I can tell you is that as someone who made a career of working out the logistics of getting people from point A to point B, often beyond and then back again, and a number of them who were Congressmen, Agency Heads, White House Counsels etc., that there really are times and places where they logistically need a jet to get there and back in a timely and efficient way. That's when they use the jets and to my knowledge the only time they use the jets and most experienced travelers know that the best way to end up splattered in a corn field or on the side of a mountain top is a small poorly maintained jet, commercial is much safer, and I have lost some clients over the years to mountain tops and corn fields that didn't heed my advice, smart travelers do though.

To me this isn't an issue, there sure are a whole slew of other things this corrupt government does that are issues for me.


reply posted on 8-8-2009 @ 07:26 PM by Roadblockx
reply to post by wiredamerican


Fair point. I still think there should be a way, ANY way for these congressmen and women to find a way to CONSERVE money on travel. Share a ride. Use a bus. Take a train. Try to make all of their stops in one trip rather than multiple trips.


reply posted on 12-8-2009 @ 03:34 PM by Keyhole
reply to post by Roadblockx


Well, I guess this would be an update to the update.

Air Congress Hits Turbulence
House leaders hope that dropping plans to spend $550 million on elite Gulfstream jets to fly members around the globe will dissipate public ire. I'm not so sure.

"Not so sure" is right!

It took a public outcry, (which I'm surprised they even listened to), to get them to not buy these planes, for $550 million, while the country is essentially bankrupt!

They should be ashamed of themselves for even thinking about buying them in the first place!




[edit on 8/12/2009 by Keyhole]


reply posted on 12-8-2009 @ 03:36 PM by 12m8keall2c
Existing thread here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

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