I find this questionable. Very. On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 12:26 AM, Beth In Alaska <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?sid=ST2008090900325&s_pos= > > ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 > nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging > a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while > traveling on state business. > > The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her > children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed > the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official > business for his wife. > > Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her > allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty > station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The > Washington Post. > > The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, > and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the > capital city 600 miles away, the documents show. > > Gubernatorial spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said Monday that Palin's expenses > are not unusual and that, under state policy, the first family could have > claimed per diem expenses for each child taken on official business but has > not done so. > > Before she became the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee, Palin > was little known outside Alaska. Now, with the campaign emphasizing her > executive experience, her record as mayor of Wasilla, as a state oil-and-gas > commissioner and as governor is receiving intense scrutiny. > > She wrote some form of "Lodging -- own residence" or "Lodging -- Wasilla > residence" more than 30 times at the same time she took a per diem, > according to the reports. In two dozen undated amendments to the reports, > the governor deleted the reference to staying in her home but still charged > the per diem. > > Palin charged the state a per diem for working on Nov. 22, 2007 -- > Thanksgiving Day. The reason given, according to the expense report, was the > Great Alaska Shootout, an annual NCAA college basketball tournament held in > Anchorage. > > In separate filings, the state was billed about $25,000 for Palin's > daughters' expenses and $19,000 for her husband's. > > Flights topped the list for the most expensive items, and the daughter whose > bill was the highest was Piper, 7, whose flights cost nearly $11,000, while > Willow, 14, claimed about $6,000 and Bristol, 17, accounted for about > $3,400. > > One event was in New York City in October 2007, when Bristol accompanied the > governor to Newsweek's third annual Women and Leadership Conference, toured > the New York Stock Exchange and met local officials and business executives. > The state paid for three nights in a $707-a-day hotel room. Garnero said the > governor's office has the authority to approve hotel stays above $300. > > Asked Monday about the official policy on charging for children's travel > expenses, Garnero said: "We cover the expenses of anyone who's conducting > state business. I can't imagine kids could be doing that." > > But Leighow said many of the hundreds of invitations Palin receives include > requests for her to bring her family, placing the definition of "state > business" with the party extending the invitation. > > One such invitation came in October 2007, when Willow flew to Juneau to join > the Palin family on a tour of the Hub Juneau Christian Teen Center, where > Palin and her family worship when they are in Juneau. The state gave the > center $25,000, according to a May 2008 memo. > > Leighow noted that under state policy, all of the governor's children are > entitled to per diem expenses, even her infant son. "The first family > declined the per diem [for] the children," Leighow said. "The amount that > they had declined was $4,461, as of August 5." > > The family also charged for flights around the state, including trips to > Alaska events such as the start of the Iditarod dog-sled race and the Iron > Dog snowmobile race, a contest that Todd Palin won. > > Meanwhile, Todd Palin spent $725 to fly to Edmonton, Alberta, for > "information gathering and planning meeting with Northern Alberta Institute > of Technology," according to an expense report. During the three-day trip, > he charged the state $291 for his per diem. A notation said "costs paid by > Dept. of Labor." He also billed the state $1,371 for a flight to Washington > to attend a National Governors Association meeting with his wife. > > Gov. Palin has spent far less on her personal travel than her predecessor: > $93,000 on airfare in 2007, compared with $463,000 spent the year before by > her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. He traveled often in an executive jet that > Palin called an extravagance during her campaign. She sold it after she was > sworn into office. > > "She flies coach and encourages her cabinet to fly coach as well," said > Garnero, whose job is equivalent to state controller. "Some do, some don't." > > Leighow said that the governor's staff has tallied the travel expenses > charged by Murkowski's wife: $35,675 in 2006, $43,659 in 2005, $13,607 in > 2004 and $29,608 in 2003. Associates of Murkowski said the former governor > was moose hunting and could not be reached to comment. > > In the past, per diem claims by Alaska state officials have carried > political risks. In 1988, the head of the state Commerce Department was > pilloried for collecting a per diem charge of $50 while staying in his > Anchorage home, according to local news accounts. The commissioner, the late > Tony Smith, resigned amid a series of controversies. > > "It was quite the little scandal," said Tony Knowles, the Democratic > governor from 1994 to 2000. "I gave a direction to all my commissioners if > they were ever in their house, whether it was Juneau or elsewhere, they were > not to get a per diem because, clearly, it is and it looks like a scam -- > you pay yourself to live at home," he said. > > Knowles, whose children were school-age at the start of his first term, said > that his wife sometimes accompanied him to conferences overseas but that he > could "count on one hand" the number of times his children accompanied him. > > "And the policy was not to reimburse for family travel on commercial > airlines, because there is no direct public benefit to schlepping kids > around the state," he said. The rules were articulated by Mike Nizich, then > director of administrative services in the governor's office, said Knowles > and an aide to another former governor, Walter Hickel. > > Nizich is now Palin's chief of staff. He did not return a phone call seeking > comment. The rules governing family travel on state-owned aircraft appear > less clear. Knowles said he operated under the understanding that immediate > family could accompany the governor without charge. > > But during the Murkowski years, that practice was questioned, and the state > attorney general's office produced an opinion saying laws then in effect > required reimbursement for spousal travel. > > >
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