Posted on 05/13/2003 8:41:58 AM PDT by areafiftyone
Lost in the political firestorm over President Bush's Top Gun landing on an aircraft carrier to proclaim the end of the Iraq war is the fact that lawmakers and congressional staff have routinely made similar forays.
Navy records show that 25 congressional personnel, including 12 lawmakers, have flown to aircraft carriers in four separate instances since the beginning of the year.
Earlier this month, the president, in a made-for-TV event, donned a military flight suit and made a tailhook landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Democrats assailed the president's carrier visit as a publicity stunt and a waste of taxpayer money. The Lincoln was returning to port after deployment to the Middle East.
In late January, six congressional aides made a less publicized tailhook landing on the USS Nimitz as it also plied the waters off of Southern California, Navy records show.
Aides to Republican Sens. Sam Brownback (Kan.), Michael Crapo (Idaho), Thad Cochran (Miss.), and Jeff Sessions (Ala.), and to Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), made the tailhook landing on Jan. 24. The delegation stayed overnight and left the following day.
On April 23, the Navy facilitated three separate trips to carriers for lawmakers and congressional staff.
Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) paid a visit to the USS John C. Stennis in San Diego. The carrier was docked and did not require air transportation. The same day, a group of congressional staffers landed on the USS Carl Vinson as it was underway in the Pacific. Those who attended included three professional aides to the House Resources Committee, two of whom work for the minority, and a staffer for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Aides to committee members Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) and Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) also made the seaward trip.
Finally, a group of lawmakers led by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) made a tailhook landing on the USS Harry S Truman, deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.
Traveling with Hastert to the carrier were Republican Reps. Judy Biggert (Ill.), Anne Northup (Ky.), Mike Pence (Ind.), John Portman (Ohio), John Shadegg (Ariz.) and Todd Tiahrt (Kan.). Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) also made the landing. At least 16 press organizations reported on the trip to the carrier.
Just two weeks later, Dicks paid another visit to a carrier, this time via helicopter. On May 6, he and other Democratic members from the Washington State caucus choppered out to the Lincoln as it was underway in the Pacific Northwest.
Accompanying Dicks were Reps. Jay Inslee and Rick Larsen and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.
Trips by lawmakers and their staff to aircraft carriers are nothing new, the Navy says. They are frequently arranged for members and their staff during congressional recesses. Aircraft carrier embarks, like other ship, submarine and military installation visits, provide members of Congress and their staff with a better understanding of the military, our equipment, and most importantly, the dedicated men and women who train, deploy, and face the challenges that threaten our national security every day, said a Navy official. He added, We try to accommodate every request.
Following Bush's tailhook landing on the Lincoln, a number of Democrats decried the event as a costly publicity stunt.
Aides to Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, calculated that the president's carrier landing cost at least $1.1 million.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Government Reform Committee, wrote to the General Accounting Office (GAO) last Tuesday regarding Bush's trip.
Since last week's event which had clear political overtones was paid for by American taxpayers, I ask that the GAO provide a full accounting of the costs associated with the president's trip, Waxman wrote.
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) also demanded an analysis of the costs.
I would like the Defense Department to determine what the cost to taxpayers was for transporting the president to the carrier, his stay on the carrier, his flight from the carrier to shore, and any changes in the carrier's or the jet's schedule or procedure for the president's visit, Conyers wrote Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
SCANDAL???? WHAT SCANDAL??? What a farce!
If they do, I don't want to see a picture of that. Thank you.
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