Sen. Sam Brownback took 10 privately funded trips last year, more than the rest of the Kansas delegation combined. All total, Brownback’s trips cost more than $21,400 — $10,000 of which was for a charter plane and helicopter flight to religious broadcaster Pat Robertson’s 75th birthday party.
Such travel could be banned under reforms Congress is considering following the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. But prospects of passage aren’t good — the measure is stalled in the Senate, and some GOP House members oppose the travel ban. Big surprise.
Congress also needs to change rules that allow its members to lease vehicles for their private use and stick taxpayers with the tab. Last year, taxpayers paid $1 million to lease vehicles for 136 House members — including Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Topeka, who leased a Chevy Trailblazer at a cost of $7,348. Pay for your own car.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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25 Comments
We need to change congress. All incumbents out. Both-sides of the Isle. AIPAC has dossiers on each member { photos, bribes and can pressure any vote they want}.
AIPAC must be registered as an agent of a foreign government.
Why do we continue to elect these crooks?
How exactly are you a crook when you’re doing what the rules allow? Not making a judgment one way or another….but geezzz….a crook?
Businesses and other organizations all over America pay for cars for their senior-level executives. Ryun’s district is 15,000 square miles for goodness sake. If he and 135 other Members of the House are doing it and disclosing it, so be it. If we didn’t pay for that, we would be paying 44 cents a mile for the 12,000 to 15,000 miles Ryun probably drives every year.
If you work for a private business, you may also accept travel paid for by anyone, your employer, a vendor or supplier, anyone. There are strict rules by which Members of Congress may travel and they must report the trips.
Get into the real world Brownlee and quit trying to make news out of nothing.
I just can’t get all that upset about a furnished vehicle.
Anybody else notice the complete black out tonight on the evening news of Russ Feingold’s statement calling for censure of Bush?
Here’s the complete statement–
http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/06/03/2006313.html
Thank God, there’s one Senator who’s got a pair . . .
A bigger question is why these conservatives get and TAKE government provided healthcare for LIFE while hit-or-miss healthcare is just fine for their constituents . . .
10 privately funded trips…at an average cost of $2100 each? Where is the scandal…? We are not talking mega millions that he tried to hide, are we?
Slow news day, is it?
Censure him for what?
You can’t seem to be able to figure out what law he has broken or how he is in violation of the Constitution… so all you poor little liberals have left is censure?
Please.
Thankfully the grown-ups are still in charge.
Feingold didn’t want to put the country through impeachment again.
The crime is illegal wiretapping which President Liar then lied about.
Don’t bother to read the statement before you tell us what’s wrong with it.
Otherwise you wouldn’t be “Know Nothing” Nathan.
And the winner of the car leasing extravaganza? DEMOCRAT Mike Ross of LA with over $36,000.
But…according to certain individuals on this blog, it is ONLY the Republicans that are wasteful. Hmmmm…
If he illegally wiretapped then where are the charges? Why is nothing being done to him?
You make me laugh by saying that liberals are going the censure route to avoid putting the country through impeachment again.
The liberals are trying to go the censure route because they can’t do anything besides talk, talk, talk, talk.
Nothing will be done to the President because he has done nothing wrong.
LOL
A crook is judged by the result.
Nathan, don’t be disingenuous. Democrats can’t begin impeachment proceedings because they’re in the minority, but you know that. There’ll be no investigations for the same reason. But if the Dems gain a majority in November, your boy is in deep trouble. Once the investigations begin, we’ll find plenty to keep Bush hopping for the rest of his term, if he’s able to finish it.
If the Democrats win a majority in the Senate in November (and that’s highly likely), Bush can count on being impeached.
Impeached for what?
Oh Imeachment is coming. Your boy is making it so easy I almost think he wants it.
The wiretapping censure is just a start.
Now as XXX has said, the GOP hold on the Senate makes this problematic. But Senators do like to keep their jobs.
I’m no constitutional scholar, but I’d say derelection of the primary duty to defend the United States is probably an impeachable offense. And unless bush makes this Dubai port deal go away (say by getting it seen as a “transfer”), or the Republicans in the House kill it “for him” against his will, his steadfast support for a deal that would compromise American security would constitute a derelection of the primary duty to defend the United States.
There need not be a Democrat takeover of the Senate to proceed with impeachment. The Senators may proceed with impeachment in order to prevent that takeover.
Maybe Bush could use the Claude A. Allen defense: “I bet my identical twin knows more about this crime than I do.”
A link for Claude’s boo hoo story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/14/politics/14allen.html?ei=5094&en=597c9d305272ce2f&hp=&ex=1142312400&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1142312564-pk3AUf724TQG19wOB2FwPA
If Clinton getting a hummer in his office the standard offense for impeachment then Bush has certantly commited worse offenses.
Lying about WMD’s to go to war with Iraq. Scooter Libby and leaking CIA agents names. Selling Port Security to a part of the world were at war with. Being told the leeves could fail and when they do saying nobody could have forseen the levees failing. Giving NO bid contracts to the VPs old company. Breaking the nuclear Nonprofieration treaty by helping India with its Nuclear program. The list goes on and on
Brownback needs to visit his constituents once in a while! He must have needed a one on one with the Big Guy!
The imperial congress.
Ya know, there is this little thing called a “ballot” that can be used to clear the decks of ALL incumbents.
Too bad kansans cant find their way to the polls to use that ballot wisely.
I would think a better way for democrats to get rid of the republican control is to try and win an election from time to time. But hey, good luck with that impeachment attempt. I sincerely hope it succeeds.
Which little monkey is Nathan?
Not the one with his mouth covered, that’s for sure . . . It must be the one with his eyes covered.
Too bad kansans cant find their way to the polls to use that ballot wisely.
Let me rephrase that:
Too bad Americans can’t find their way to the polls to free themselves from capitalist slavery!
And the better slavery is….