In the latest example of porkbarrel spending in the 111th congress, Dem. House Members are spending over a thousand dollars a month, each, on fancy new "green" vehicles
In a story sure to shake up the political scene in Washington on the eve of the all-important House Obamacare vote, Politico reports this morning on the lavish porkbarrel spending of federal taxpayer money engaged in by Congressional Democrats for monthly payments on fancy “green” vehicles:
The economy is still limping along, but some members of Congress are nevertheless riding in style: At least 10 House members are spending more than $1,000 a month in taxpayer money to lease cars.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver appears to be the biggest spender.
In the last quarter of 2009, the Missouri Democrat doled out $2,900 a month to lease a WiFi-equipped, handicap-accessible mobile office that runs on used cooking oil.
“Rather than paying for an additional office, the congressman has a mobile office, with all the capabilities to do casework across the district,” Cleaver spokesman Danny Rotert wrote in an e-mail. “We can go where our constituents are and accommodate those in wheelchairs with the mobile office’s lift.”
But at least nine other members are paying more than $1,000 a month for more basic rides.
Some lawmakers blame their high lease costs on a policy, enacted in a 2007 energy bill, requiring that the vehicles they choose be fuel efficient. Others say their two-year terms in office prevent them from taking advantage of lower-cost, longer-term leases.
A spokesman for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), who is paying $1,628 to lease a GMC Yukon, cited those reasons — and others.
In all, 10 House congresspeople spend more than a thousand dollars a month on their personal vehicles, with nine Democrats in that group and one Republican. Politico notes the reactions of several of the nine Democrats implicated in this wasteful use of taxpayer money, with one House Dem pointing to the fact that the vehicle was built by a union as justifying the use of federal taxpayer money:
A spokeswoman for Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), who spends $1,230 per month on a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, said Kilpatrick does it for her district.
“The vehicle is manufactured by a company headquartered in the 13th Congressional District and was made by the hardworking men and women of the United Auto Workers,” spokeswoman Tracy Walker wrote in an e-mail. “The vehicle also meets the tougher environmental standards mandated by Congress.”
Pedro Pierluisi, the Democrat who represents Puerto Rico, spends $1,400 each month on his hybrid GMC Yukon, but a spokeswoman said that figure includes insurance, repair and maintenance costs.
Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.) — one of the richest members of Congress, with a net worth of more than $36 million — spends $1,279 in taxpayer money on his vehicle, a 2009 Chevy Malibu that helps him traverse his expansive southern New Mexico district. His cost includes additional mileage to facilitate travel in the sixth-largest congressional district in the country, his office said.
Such excuses from Democratic Congresspeople like Teague, “one of the richest members of Congress”, regarding the clear misuse of federal taxpayer money are unlikely to mollify the average American taxpayer’s outrage at this wasteful spending of federal taxpayer money. As Americans struggle to find work and make ends meet, having a Congressperson with a net worth of more than $36 million charge taxpayers not only for a fancy “green” car but also for “additional mileage to facilitate travel” may seem outrageous to a middle of the road, centrist American citizen but such practices will likely continue in the foreseeable future.
