Politics

Learjet Landrieu: Senator Pressed On Taxpayer Funded Private Plane Use In Final Debate [VIDEO]

Derek Hunter Contributor
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In the final debate before Tuesday’s election, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu was pressed by moderators about the necessity of her use of private charter flights she bills to taxpayers as part of her travel expenses. Questioned about the expense, she was asked if she was “moved at all by $17 trillion dollars in debt? And the president said we’re broke, for example.”

Landrieu justified her use of private planes by saying she doesn’t use all the money she’s budgeted by the Senate for running her office. “Actually, John, the budget that I received every year, in the 18 years that I’ve been proud to serve the people of this state, I’ve returned money to the treasury,” she said. “So, every Senator has discretion as to how they use money in their own budget, but I’ve returned money every year. And have lived within the budget allotted.” (RELATED: Landrieu Refuses To Say If She Backs Harry Reid; Did In May)

Landrieu found herself in the midst of controversy earlier this year over her use of private charter flights for her campaign that were improperly billed to taxpayers. Saying it was a “bookkeeping error” she took “full responsibility” for it tonight, and her campaign repaid taxpayers $33,700 for the 43 private flights she erroneously billed the American public for since 2002. (RELATED: Senator Landrieu Releases Charter Flight Records, Apologizes)

Asked why she needed to take private planes in the first place, Landrieu said she uses those flights “to be able to move around the state quickly and more efficiently. Others travel differently. Sometimes I travel by car, sometimes I travel by plane. It’s within the budget, it is within the rules, and I take full responsibility for the error and have paid it back.” (RELATED: Sen. Landrieu Took Nine More ‘Suspicious’ Flights)

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