Hear the crickets, PA? Thats the sound of no pols jumping on Palin about her expense reports. Guess why.
On Sep 9, 8:54 am, PoliticalAmazon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is just the living freaking end. Maybe when Sarah Palin said > she's a "reformer" she meant she went to Reform School? > > Here are the big points, but the entire article is an important read > for anyone who cares about our economy and our country. > > *Palin was paid per-diem pay from 4/22/2008 (4 days after Trig's > birth) until she flew to Juneau on 6/3/2008. > > *At the same time she received per-diem allowance, more than 30 times > she also charged for some kind of "Lodging-Own residence" or "Lodging- > Wasilla residence." Then 24 times she wrote undated report > amendments, deleting all references for staying at home, but still > charging the per diem. > > *Her husband and daughter charged Alaska $43,490 for travel; many of > these trips were between their home in Wasilla and juneau (the > capital), 600 miles away. > > * Todd Palin charged on an expense report $725 to fly to Edmonton, > Alberta for "information gathering and planning meeting with > > *Northern Alberta Institute of Technology." Then during that 3-day > trip he charged Alaska $291 for his per diem. A note reads "costs > paid by Dept. of Labor." In addition, he charged Alaska $1371 to fly > to Washington to attend a National Governors Association with Sarah > Palin. > > ----------------- > > Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home > Taxpayers Also Funded Family's Travel > > By James V. Grimaldi and Karl Vick > Washington Post Staff Writers > Tuesday, September 9, 2008; A01 > > 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. > > During her speech at the Republican National Convention last week, > Palin cast herself as a crusader for fiscal rectitude as Alaska's > governor. She noted that she sold a state-owned plane used by the > former governor. "While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the > governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to > pay for," she said to loud applause. > > Speaking from Palin's Anchorage office, Leighow said Palin dealt with > the plane and also trimmed other expenses, including forgoing a chef > in the governor's mansion because she preferred to cook for her > family. The first family's travel is an expected part of the job, she > said. > > "As a matter of protocol, the governor and the first family are > expected to attend community events across the state," she said. "It's > absolutely reasonable that the first family participates in community > events." > > The state finance director, Kim Garnero, said Alaska law exempts the > governor's office from elaborate travel regulations. Said Leighow: > "The governor is entitled to a per diem, and she claims it." > > The popular governor collected the per diem allowance from April 22, > four days after the birth of her fifth child, until June 3, when she > flew to Juneau for two days. Palin moved her family to the capital > during the legislative session last year, but prefers to stay in > Wasilla and drive 45 miles to Anchorage to a state office building > where she conducts most of her business, aides have said. > > Palin rarely sought reimbursement for meals while staying in Anchorage > or Wasilla, the reports show. > > 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. > > Research ... > > read more » --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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