I was working an aircraft westbound last night, a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to San Francisco. I worked the return flight this afternoon from San Francisco to Andrews, same callsign. The aircraft was a Gulfstream 5. For those who are not familiar with it, it is large, plush jet (it is similar to the details of this aircraft at Gulfstream’s website). Anyway, I could not help but wonder, is this Nancy Pelosi? I can understand paying for our legislators to fly back and forth between Washington, D.C. and their hometowns, and perhaps I can understand us paying for first class seats and the amenities to assist them in getting their work done while traveling. I can even understand legislators utilizing their buddies’ jets when they’re volunteered, rather than tax-payer money. But there’s no way we should be paying for legislators to be flying around in private jets at government expense! I sure hope our government is not wasting money that freely!
2 users commented in " Nancy’s G5? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackActually, the request for the gulfstream came not from Nanci Pelosi, but from the eprson in charge of her security. You need to remember that if, heaven forbid, something should happen to Bush and Cheney, Ms Pelosi would become President. Could you imagine what would happen if she had to stop to refuel when the country was in crisis?
-Bob
A little defensive? Never in my post did I suggest the G5 was Nancy’s idea. My argument is that it is ridiculous for the taxpayer to be paying for legislators to be flying around in G5s. Now Bob, as you point out, “heaven forbid, something should happen to Bush and Cheney.” Well, yes, in that case I suggest we rush the G5 out of the hangar, throw Nancy in the backseat (or whoever the Speaker is at the time) and get airborne, just for the “just in case scenario.” I’ll say it again though, legislators have no place flying “private jets” on the government dime. It’s bad enough we’re paying for the President to be buzzing around in a “private” 747 and the Vice President in his own “private” 757.