The souped-up Boeing 747 that typically serves as Air Force One costs
$179,750 an hour to operate, according to the latest Pentagon
calculations, meaning that expenses for presidential travel mount
quickly.
And, no matter what the reason for the president's trip, there are all sorts of other necessary big expenses anytime he moves around the country: advance teams, cargo planes, armored cars, Secret Service protection, communications and medical staff and more.
Presidents always are quick to stress that they reimburse the government for the costs of their political travel.
That's true, but they do so under rules that still leave taxpayers paying most of the tab.
For political trips benefiting his own campaign, Obama's team repays the government for air travel under a formula that's based on what it would cost to charter a Boeing 737 for a comparable trip, according to the White House. Obama's campaign doesn't have to pay the full cost for a chartered plane, though. It pays a reduced amount based on the number of people aboard Air Force One who were traveling for political reasons. That number excludes Secret Service agents and other support staff who always travel with the president.
Read more: http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/26/11408057-inside-washington-who-pays-when-president-politics?lite
And, no matter what the reason for the president's trip, there are all sorts of other necessary big expenses anytime he moves around the country: advance teams, cargo planes, armored cars, Secret Service protection, communications and medical staff and more.
Presidents always are quick to stress that they reimburse the government for the costs of their political travel.
That's true, but they do so under rules that still leave taxpayers paying most of the tab.
For political trips benefiting his own campaign, Obama's team repays the government for air travel under a formula that's based on what it would cost to charter a Boeing 737 for a comparable trip, according to the White House. Obama's campaign doesn't have to pay the full cost for a chartered plane, though. It pays a reduced amount based on the number of people aboard Air Force One who were traveling for political reasons. That number excludes Secret Service agents and other support staff who always travel with the president.
Read more: http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/26/11408057-inside-washington-who-pays-when-president-politics?lite
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