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SoCalSouthpaw
06-14-2006, 12:07 PM
This crap really gets under my skin. Read on taxpayers.
Cabinet secretary used CDC jet for routine travel
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A jet leased by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in emergencies has instead been used to shuttle the secretary of Health and Human Services to appearances and meetings, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt's use of the plane has cost more than $700,000 since January.
The newspaper analyzed the Gulfstream III's flight log and found that the 14-seat aircraft has been used primarily by Leavitt to attend news conferences promoting the new Medicare prescription drug plan and meetings with state officials over their flu pandemic plans.
Since January, Leavitt has taken the jet on 19 trips to visit more than 90 cities, his spokeswoman told the newspaper. During the same period, CDC officials said they had used the aircraft to respond to three emergencies and conduct three training exercises.
The Journal-Constitution reported that during two emergencies, the CDC was forced to use another plane because Leavitt was using the Gulfstream.
So far in 2006, the aircraft has cost taxpayers $2.1 million, with at least $720,000 of that spent on flight hours used by Leavitt, according to CDC and HHS officials.
Leavitt's spokeswoman, Christina Pearson, told the newspaper his use of the jet is appropriate and in compliance with federal guidelines.
Last fall, Congress inserted language in the HHS budget mandating that the CDC share its aircraft with Leavitt. The intent was to make sure the plane was available to Leavitt "in times of emergencies and in the days following such emergencies" because of his role in directing public health responses "to significant events," according to Congress' conference report on the bill.
The report said Congress expected the airplane to be used "in an economical and judicious manner."
Before January, Leavitt flew commercial, except after Hurricane Katrina when he used government planes for trips to the Gulf Coast, Pearson told the newspaper.
Pearson did not immediately respond to a call by The Associated Press seeking additional comment Wednesday. She told the Journal-Constitution that Leavitt was not available for interviews.
Rep. Henry Waxman of California, ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, was critical of Leavitt's use of the aircraft.
"It is mind-boggling that the secretary would commandeer for his own personal convenience a jet that is supposed to be used by CDC for public health emergencies," Waxman said.
However, a spokesman for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has authority over the CDC and HHS, commended Leavitt's work.
"The scope of his work has required extensive travel and might not have been possible without the use of a government-owned aircraft," said spokesman Craig Orfield.
Here's a face to attach to your frustration:
http://***boat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14523&stc=1

Jbb
06-14-2006, 12:13 PM
G3....nice plane!
http://images.google.com/url?q=http://www.ejmjets.com/images/aircrafts/large/gulfstream_III/gulfstream3_ext.jpg