Nancy Pelosi’s Jet is Gone – Truth! & Outdated!
Summary of eRumor:
Congresswoman and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can no longer use an Air Force jet to travel from Washington to California.
The Truth:
This eRumor’s claims about Nancy Pelosi’s use of Air Force planes are true, misleading and outdated.
Nancy Pelosi sometimes flew on Air Force planes while she served as House Speaker — but she hasn’t held that position since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 2010.
And the eRumor’s claims about the cost of Pelosi’s air travel to U.S. taxpayers are correct, according to public records obtained by the non-profit Judicial Watch in 2009 and 2010:
“The Speaker’s military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period — $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol.”
However, the eRumor’s insinuation that Pelosi had requested or demanded to use Air Force planes is misleading. Former House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood said in 2007 that Pelosi didn’t make the request, but that he did for security reasons:
“The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable.”
The Bush Administration also stood behind Pelosi at the time. Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told CNN:
“We think it’s appropriate. And so, again, I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the Speaker to have this kind of protection and travel.”
At the time, Pelosi said that she preferred to fly commercial but wasn’t allowed to because of security concerns.
“I told them that I will travel across the country non-stop, commercially, as I have done and have done probably 1,000 times since I’ve been in Congress, so this is nothing new to me.”
Ohio Republican Rep. John Boehner was allowed to forgo military transport after he was elected House Speaker in 2010. In a statement, the House Sergeant at Arms said Boehner would be allowed to fly commercial based on “the current security assessment.”
TruthorFiction.com covered an earlier version of this eRumor. Click HERE for that coverage.