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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.
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