"Travel costs jump on Kerry’s panel; Democrats set annual record for world trips" by Farah Stockman and Stephanie Vallejo, Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent | November 29, 2009
WASHINGTON - Democrats and their staff members on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have spent more on international travel in 2009 than they have in any other year, reflecting a greater focus on up-close tours and investigations in foreign countries by its new chairman, John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, according to a Globe analysis of expense reports filed in Congress.
He OBVIOUSLY doesn't care about the CARBON FOOTPRINT on the trips you picked up, taxpayers!!
From January through September, Kerry, his fellow Democratic senators, and their staff spent $746,000 on more than 75 trips to more than 50 countries. That is double the number of trips and nearly three times the costs accumulated by their Republican colleagues on the committee during the same period.
What a STINKING HYPOCRITE this guy is!!!!
Related: Chief Petty Officer John Kerry
DOUBLE STINK-STENCH!
The totals for the first three quarters of this year under Kerry are also more than Democrats traveled or spent during all of 2008. The trips have included priority foreign policy destinations, such as Afghanistan and Israel, but also less prominent places such as Iceland, Laos, and Moldova. Kerry’s staff says the pace of travel is proof that an energetic new chairman who took the helm in January is eager for firsthand information on the world’s most contentious problems.
Yeah, it is OKAY for THEM to FART UP a STORM and WRECK the PLANET!!
He's just getting information; you need to pay a tax for going to work (if you have work), America.
“You can’t evaluate the effectiveness of opium poppy eradication in southern Afghanistan or investigate alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka - both recent trips by committee staff - from a desk in Washington,’’ said Kerry’s spokesman, Frederick Jones. “This is a Democratic administration pushing a Democratic foreign policy, based on engagement, so it makes sense that there would be more Democratic travel.’’
(Blog editor can no longer respond to their gibberish)
But there are signs that the Democrats’s foreign trips have become a source of tension on the committee, which has a long-held reputation for bipartisan collegiality. In past years, Republicans and Democrats have typically spent roughly equal amounts on trips, often traveling together to present a united front overseas. But.... partisan wrangling over travel on the committee came into public view two months ago, when Kerry issued a rare rejection to a travel request by GOP Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina - a move that Republicans decried as an unprecedented use of the chairman’s powers.
Kerry refused to approve the trip to Honduras because DeMint was blocking two diplomatic appointments. DeMint found alternative funding for his trip, and Republicans say Kerry has not blocked any other trips. Still, the incident suggests a break from the committee’s past bipartisan cooperation....
Two letters, one party -- the WAR PARTY!
The increased Democratic travel reflects Kerry’s ambitious portfolio, which now includes global warming, Afghanistan, and issues related to international finance.
Yeah, let's help out "global warming" by ADDING to IT!!!
Kerry, whose name is often mentioned as a possible future secretary of state, has also hired at least seven additional staff members, including two traveling investigators....
DOESN'T the RANK HYPOCRISY PISS YOU OFF, America!?
Here, why don't you give his staff a call like I did and tell him what you think of his global gallivanting in this time of global warming.
