Friday, October 18, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Reid seeks probe of president's travel
Fund-raising costing taxpayers, senator says
By TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Escalating his efforts to obtain President Bush's travel expenses, Sen. Harry Reid asked the General Accounting Office on Thursday to investigate how much Bush's trips are costing taxpayers.
In a Senate speech, Reid complained that Bush is spending taxpayer dollars to fly a "corporate entourage" on Air Force One to Republican fund-raisers around the country.
"I'm sure they're going to stall the GAO, but we're going to find out how much this costs," said Reid, D-Nev., and majority whip. "It shouldn't be paid for by taxpayers; it should be paid for by the Republican National Committee or whatever Republican arm they feel it should be."
White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said Reid is talking about "an old issue."
"The funding formula (for presidential travel) is decades old and the White House adheres to the separation between governmental and political expenses," Lisaius said.
Republican organizations reimburse a portion of the cost for political events but the government pays for the operation of Air Force One, the travel costs of White House staff and security.
"Senator Reid's request has been referred to the Office of Management and Budget, but everyone follows the formula," Lisaius said.
Reid originally requested an accounting of all travel costs incurred by Bush and members of his administration in a Sept. 26 letter to Mitch Daniels, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
"Of course, no answer," Reid said Thursday. "I guess the letter's in the mail. It's been weeks."
Reid, the Senate's second-ranking Democratic leader, charged Bush is devoting an excessive amount of time to attending political fund-raisers. The president is scheduled for political travel for 14 consecutive days leading up to the Nov. 5 election, Reid said.
"Rather than spending 14 days on a campaign trail, he should be spending 14 days trying to do something about this economy, which is stumbling, staggering, faltering," Reid said.
