First-Class Cornyn Offers Weak Defense Of His Exorbitant Travel Costs: Texas Is A Big State
First-Class Cornyn Offers Weak Defense Of His Exorbitant Travel Costs: Texas Is A Big State
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has tried to portray himself as an upstanding lawmaker dedicated to fiscal restraint. He has frequently criticized “wasteful spending” in the federal government and even called President Obama’s spending plans “reckless.”
Last month, Politico published a chart illustrating the transportation costs from the offices of all 100 U.S. Senators. Topping off the list was Cornyn, who has spent over $150,000 on travel costs during the first half of the 2009 fiscal year.
When a local ABC News affiliate in Dallas (WFAA) asked him about his expensive travel habits, Cornyn called Politico’s report “a cheap shot.” The reporter then asked the obvious follow-up, “In what sense was it a cheap shot? They were using the Secretary of the Senate information?” However, Cornyn wouldn’t budge and instead decided to dig in:
CORNYN: Oh yeah, not every state is the same. When you represent a state as big as Texas and traveling home from Washington D.C. every weekend, it unfortunately costs some money.
The “Texas is a big state” defense seems plausible on its face, but the same records Politico reported show that Texas’s other U.S. Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R), spent nearly 43 percent less on travel than Cornyn during the same period ($87,651).
Moreover, California Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who represent a state similar to Texas in size and population (and one that’s further away from Washington, DC), spent less than Cornyn on travel combined (Boxer $72,473; Feinstein $29,917; Total $102,390).
But also, WFAA reports that Cornyn and his staff spent more than $55,000 in taxpayer money on a three day retreat to St. Michaels, MD in February and that “a third of the costs, $17,353, was Cornyn’s alone”:
He was reimbursed for $7,750 in incidentals. The senator’s per diem, a daily allowance, was $5,226 for the three-day trip. For a 162-mile, round-trip journey from Washington, D.C., transportation to get the senator to Maryland cost taxpayers $4,377.66.
Referring to Cornyn’s defense, watchdog group Public Citizen’s Tom Smith said, “I agree senator. It is a big state, and most big cities where he’s spending most of his time have real good airline service. He should be flying coach with the rest of us.”
Cornyn said he does fly commercial but admitted that he also takes more expensive charter jets. When asked if he would “change anything” regarding his travel expenses, Cornyn replied, “No, I wouldn’t. I believe the travel I do is essential.”
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He really should try to jet pool with Al Gore.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:04 pmLOL! Hey Cornyn! Pennsylvannia is a big state. I guess it is OK if MY representatives spend big bucks on their travel. YEAH RIGHT!
July 8th, 2009 at 5:05 pmhe also takes more expensive charter jets.
When the auto execs appeared before congress, didn’t they get grilled on if they took private jets / charter jets / public air transporation / or drove ?
And for the “retreat”
162 miles x 0.40 / mile = $64.
3 days of meals at mid-level restaurants (what do govt workers get per diem I wonder) : let’s be generous and say $ 100.
So he was in line, I’m only short by $ 6840,
July 8th, 2009 at 5:06 pmOh, and for the “big state” argument – Alaska’s Murkowski is listed as $ 64 k
Texas isn’t twice the size of Alaska.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:07 pmWhen asked if he would “change anything” regarding his travel expenses, Cornyn replied, “No, I wouldn’t. I believe the travel I do is essential.”
Is it up to the Senator himself to determine what is “essential”? Is there no one in the Senate whose job it is to watch how they spend our money on themselves? Or do we leave that up to the Senator’s personal integrity? (I think you can see where this is going.)
July 8th, 2009 at 5:11 pmAll of us Texas are very proud of you Senator…sarcasm intended.
After a while I get used to him talking out of both sides of his mouth.
This is a strong Red State, so he can afford to be the same pompous jerk he’s always been.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:12 pmOh yeah, not every state is the same. When you represent a state as big as Texas and traveling home from Washington D.C. every weekend, it unfortunately costs some money.
This has to be the lamest shit I’ve read today.
Isn’t like, Los Angeles the furthest DISTANCE from D.C.??
How the hell does the size of the state have anything to do with the cost of traveling from and to D.C.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:13 pmOnly Texas Publicans would be dumb enough to swallow this crap.
$7,750 for “incidentals”?
Is that what they call heroin these days?
I did not know that.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:13 pmMapleStreet, I think California is probably closer in comparison to Texas, as Alaska is large in area, not in population. Makes some sense, but I’m sure Cornyn does a lot of intrastate travel.
For what, pray tell? Maybe he has a “soul mate” in El Paso?
Sen. Cornyn ought to do his part for the economy. Don’t want to have to bail HIM out for anything!
July 8th, 2009 at 5:14 pmFighting out of control big government spending by know nothing bureaucrats takes LOTS OF MONEY.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:14 pmWow – remember all the crap Pelosi took about her jet and travel expenses?
IOKIYAR, right, Box Turtle?
July 8th, 2009 at 5:15 pmO/T
I’m coming out! I’m GAY everyone!
I’m a gay neo-con!
July 8th, 2009 at 5:17 pm…And I have a thing for old wrinkly white politicians that have skin cancer!
July 8th, 2009 at 5:18 pmHow do you spell Hippo Crit? Spending like that while criticizing others’ spending…he must be a Republican.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:19 pm…men of course
July 8th, 2009 at 5:19 pm“Topping off the list was Cornyn, who has spent over $150,000 on travel costs during the first half of the 2009 fiscal year.”
Cornyn, take the greyhound, beyotch
July 8th, 2009 at 5:20 pmYoung Republican Says:
“O/T
I’m coming out! I’m GAY everyone!
I’m a gay neo-con!”
good luck getting a date, once you mention “republican” can men tend to get turned off.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:21 pm*gay men
July 8th, 2009 at 5:22 pmsorry
Schumer’s not that far behind Cornyn. New York is like a 4 hour drive from DC. I’ll bet it takes at least that long to wait around in an airport and then fly.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:25 pmSo he flies into El Paso, gets in a taxi and goes to Dallas, gets out, flags another cab and goes to Brownsville, where he exits and gets a limo to drive him to Amarillo, then another leg with a limo, a blonde, booze and cigars to Houston, then takes a convoy of National Guard troops to San Antonio, where he treats the blondes to a Spurs game and hotel after the game.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:27 pmThat would just about account for it.
Charter flights need to undergo the same restrictions and searches as commercial flights.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:31 pmGood to know that airplane travel is now based on the size of the state you’re traveling to. So it should be incredibly cheap for me to fly to Rhode Island from the West coast.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:32 pmEl Bruce, only if you opt for the parachute entry program…
July 8th, 2009 at 5:34 pmThis really caught my eye: He was reimbursed for $7,750 in incidentals. The senator’s per diem, a daily allowance, was $5,226 for the three-day trip. For a 162-mile, round-trip journey from Washington, D.C., transportation to get the senator to Maryland cost taxpayers $4,377.66.
$5,226 for a three-day per diem? Who requires $1700 per day?
July 8th, 2009 at 5:42 pmgummble-bee-itch, please see #22. thanks.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:44 pmOver $17,000 for a 3 day trip to Maryland? And he wonders why people are asking questions? The comparison to other politicians costs says it all: Cornyn is a wasteful, extravagant hypocrite who loves to squander taxpayer dollars unnecessarily.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:44 pmCornyn has no problem going to the teabaggers’ rallies to protest against excessive government spending.
What a hypocrite!
July 8th, 2009 at 5:45 pmhMMM…How much do professional tea baggers charge?
July 8th, 2009 at 5:48 pmSince Congressmen and Senators are really government employees, they should be required to follow the same rules as any other government employee.
If they want to fly first-class, then the are reimbursed for the cost of a coach ticket and they pay the rest. If they want to fly on a chartered flight, then they are reimbursed for the cost of a coach ticket. Oh, and they are not allowed to keep their frequent flyer miles, just like government employees.
Per Diem rates would be the same, requiring modest hotels and food expenses. Anything about that would be at their own expense.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:48 pmDr. Hussein Matt Says:
paleolib Says:
$7,750 for “incidentals”?
That’s code for Viagra, porn, and male hookers.
Either that is a lot of male hookers, or the only ones that would touch his “thing” charge a lot for the privilege.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:52 pmI remember last summer, during the repiggie convention in Minneapolis, that male hookers and rent boys were doing quite a business. Gay bars were full of chubby
July 8th, 2009 at 5:59 pmguys wearing ties and toupees.
See all the children dressed in black!
July 8th, 2009 at 6:00 pmSee all the children dressed in black!
See all the children dressed in black?
Must be the hypocrites coming back!
No hidin’ place down here!!!!!!!!
God! Don’t “change anything” because you’ll destroy our perception of you and yours. You’re too dumb to even know how you’re looked at by everyone who isn’t a brainwashed.
July 8th, 2009 at 6:11 pm“a third of the costs, $17,353, was Cornyn’s alone”:
Hey, hookers, cocaine and booze cost alot, the guys gotta have a little fun.
July 8th, 2009 at 6:13 pm8k in incidentals? WTF? I just got a bill from the IRS for $6.75 (no kidding) and he gets to write of 8k on a fun weekend?
July 8th, 2009 at 6:23 pmAs Cornyn said to the American commoner, just go eat cake.
July 8th, 2009 at 6:39 pmRepublicans are turning out being the elitist party.
It’s overdue these guys loose their comfortable lives’.
Look at what the Senators from Hawaii spent:
Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) $31,914.71
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)$36,142.30
A grand total of $68,057.01 (or 44.55% of Cornyn’s travel expenses) to travel more than twice the distance to Hawaii for TWO senators.
And this idiot has the nerve to call Dems fiscally irresponsible?
July 8th, 2009 at 6:42 pmBig state Big Bullshite
Hey CornHole KMAMF
July 8th, 2009 at 6:48 pmThis guy is making Sarah Palin look like a bargain even accounting for carting her entire family with her. Do the math. Half a year or roughly 25 weeks would cost the tax payer $6,000 per week. Or be realistic, he’s making 10 flights a week at $600 each. That’s a lot of hours in the air. No wonder he’s light headed.
Too bad we can’t drive this man from office like they drove poor Sarah with ethics charges.
July 8th, 2009 at 7:00 pmAnother reason to call for examples of fiscal responsibility on the GOP resume. Reagan ran a deficit, as did Daddy Bush, and we all know the story of Shrub. When has the GOP ever shown fiscal responsibility except as a tool to hit the democrats over the head. Rethugs are the lowest form of scumbag this country has to offer. They are liars, cheats, adulterers, haters, and terrorists.
July 8th, 2009 at 7:53 pmYou wonder why even the teabaggers booed him in Zilker Park on July 4th. Even the wingnuts know this guy is an azz clown.
July 8th, 2009 at 7:58 pm9. Purple State,
You’re right about comparing population size also. So I’ll note that the top spender in California on the list is Boxer, $ 72 k. Still about 1/2 of Coryn.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:18 pmI was flying Southwest Airlines from Houston to Baltimore one day, when Kay Bailey Hutchinson sat down in the next seat. I remember her as being pleasant and willing to talk. I am an investment economist, so we had lots to talk about but disagreed on just about everything. But she’s not bad for a Republican. I heard Cornyn speak in Austin and take questions. Complete horse’s ass.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:03 pmkasinca Says:
——————————————————————————–
Another reason to call for examples of fiscal responsibility on the GOP resume. Reagan ran a deficit, as did Daddy Bush, and we all know the story of Shrub. When has the GOP ever shown fiscal responsibility except as a tool to hit the democrats over the head. Rethugs are the lowest form of scumbag this country has to offer. They are liars, cheats, adulterers, haters, and terrorists.
*****************
You are calling for examples of fiscal responsibility on the GOP resume ……
A Republican majority in the house and Seante balanced the budget in the years 1998 to 2001.
Although President Clinton signed the legislation I must remind you that the responsibility for the creation of the US budget lies with the Congress. Clinton to his credit worked in a bi-partisan manner to achieve this.
A Republican majority in both bodies of Congress drafted and passed the Taxpayer Relief Act Of 1997. To their credit a large % of the Democrat minority went along with the passage, and Clinton signed.
For your reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxpayer_Relief_Act_of_1997
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5656
There is your example.
July 8th, 2009 at 11:49 pm.
Ahhh…
… Gone are the days of horse and buggy where a trip back home to Texas would have been a weeks ride ONE WAY. That way, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) would never have made it home for the weekend and would have to spend it in D.C. and who knows, maybe even gotten some work done, eh?
What a whinny p!ssant.
.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 amHey, now, ole Cornhole is a U.S. Senator, doncha know? He’s too damn important to be flying coach with the riffraff. Don’t be expecting him to live by the rules that he wants others to live by, fer Chrissake. What’s the matter with you all, anyway?
July 9th, 2009 at 1:01 amWhy can’t we get this on CNN or MSNBC. Why is it only here?
July 9th, 2009 at 10:16 amFirst, a topic of discussion: why is Sen. Schumer the second name on this list? Guy’s heading up to NY at the tune of more than $144,000? What the hell? He shouldn’t even be taking a plane–that’s a quick drive, honestly. Does he live in Buffalo?
Second: I crunched some numbers. The total outlay for senators that were in office for the whole reporting period: $4,044,609.22. That’s 48 Democrats ( with Lieberman + Sanders) and 38 Republicans. So, you’d expect that Democrats would have spent 55.81% of the money ($2,257,456.31). You’d be wrong. As a party, they spent $236,853 less than that–the Republicans overspent their expected allotment by the same measure, obviously.
As a party, 22 of 38 Republicans spent more than the median (you’d expect 19 of them to), as a party, they overshot the mean by 13%. The group of them that overshot by 10% or more? They averaged 70% over compared to the equivalentDemocrats overshooters being over by an average of 59%.
They are profligate. Period.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:56 amI thought Texans wanted to disconnect from America . .
What happened??
July 9th, 2009 at 2:27 pmmgparrish Says:
Let me see you bring up the only sign of fiscal responsiblity ever and it happened to be a Democratic President. Now you weirdos seem to think that because you has the majority in congress you get all the credit for that but in 2001 you elected the worst president ever who spent the surplus on his cronies. What rethuglican administration has ever been fiscally responsible as you demand of the Democrats. You are showing the lack of information on your GOP resume to back up your lies. What Rethuglican Administration has shrunk government and balanced the budget and attained a surplus? It shouldn’t take long to answer this question.
July 9th, 2009 at 6:33 pmkasinca Says:
Let me see you bring up the only sign of fiscal responsiblity ever and it happened to be a Democratic President. Now you weirdos seem to think that because you has the majority in congress you get all the credit for that but in 2001 you elected the worst president ever who spent the surplus on his cronies. What rethuglican administration has ever been fiscally responsible as you demand of the Democrats. You are showing the lack of information on your GOP resume to back up your lies. What Rethuglican Administration has shrunk government and balanced the budget and attained a surplus? It shouldn’t take long to answer this question.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:08 am***************
This is way over your head. We have a legislative and executive branch. **The president is not king.** I gave credit to Clinton, but you are so blinded by idealogy that you cannot understand reality. BTW I did not vote for Bush, I did vote for Clinton, as yes I am a conservative. It could not happen without the Congress that was in power at the time.