Sun, Feb 15, 2009
Expeditious Travel Enables Senator's Presence At Wake, Funeral
- And In Congress
In an inadvertent illustration of the practical advantages of
non-airline flight --
the very method of corporate travel now condemned by
the White House and many lawmakers, it's worth pointing
out -- a US senator was provided with the use of
a government plane by the Obama administration to commute between
Washington, DC and his home in Ohio.
Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, recently lost his 88-year-old
mother to complications from leukemia. He returned home to attend
his mother's wake and funeral, with one hitch -- he needed to
be in Washington DC on Friday evening to cast his "yea" vote on the
$787 billion economic stimulus package.
The White House allowed use of the plane for "official
business," since there were no available commercial flights that
would enable Senator Brown to both pay his respects to the dearly
departed and cast what was expected to be a deciding vote on
legislation that has been Obama's pet project throughout his first
three weeks in office.
A White House official told CNN, "Given that no
commercial flights were available that would allow Senator Brown to
make the vote and to attend services memorializing his mother, the
administration provided government transportation to ensure that he
could do so."
The importance of the vote seemed to be an overriding factor in
the decision. "Taking immediate action to save or create 3.5
million jobs and get America's economy moving again is a top
priority for Ohio and the nation," the spokesperson said.
Although the plane used was described to be a "small government
plane," the official stated "it will be a higher cost than if he
were flying commercial." Brown planned to return to Ohio Saturday
morning for the funeral.
ANN sends condolences to the Senator and the entire Brown
family.
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