Soon-to-be House Speaker John Boehner recently announced that he will not use military aircraft to fly back and forth to his Ohio district, but rather will fly commercial. This will mark the first time, since 2001, a speaker has flown commercial for weekly district travel. After 9/11, military aircraft was authorized in order to protect the Presidential line of succession.
The military aircraft, used to transport the House Speaker, has come under fire as just one example of the federal government’s abuse of taxpayer funds. Earlier this year, Judicial Watch reported that Nancy Pelosi’s military travel cost the U.S. Air Force more than $2 million over a 2-year period, including $101,429.14 for in-flight luxuries like food and alcohol. Furthermore, each flight back to her home district cost roughly $28,210.51 per flight. And out of 103 Pelosi-led Congressional delegations, 31 trips included members of her family.
We commend Mr. Boehner’s efforts to protect taxpayers and sincerely hope he follows through with his pledge. After all, symbolic gestures only go so far. We won’t be able to really celebrate until actual spending reductions are enacted.