Mary Landrieu Grilled over Charter Flights and Wasting Taxpayer Dollars

Landrieu Grilled Over Charter Flights and Wasting Taxpayer Dollars (Washington Free Beacon)

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.) said that taking charter flights to travel around Louisiana was “within the budget” and “within the rules” of her office after moderator Cynthia Arceneaux asked her why she needed charter flights in the first place.

Landrieu took full responsibility for using $33,000 in taxpayer dollars (out of the $47,000 she actually spent) on charter flights and said it was a “bookkeeping error.”

“I’ve used charter flights to be able to be able to move around the state more quickly and more efficiently,” Landrieu said. “Others travel differently. Sometimes I travel by car, sometimes I travel by plane. It is within the budget, it is within the rules.”

Moderator John Snell asked if Landrieu was moved by the $17 trillion in debt and noted that President Obama has said the U.S. government is ‘broke.’

“Every senator has discretion as to how they use money in their own budget,” Landrieu said. “But I’ve returned money every year and have lived within the budget allotted.”