I haven't seen this anywhere in a US paper...
Why are armored limousines needed in the US for anyone except the President? This isn't the Middle East!
DailyMailOnline: Lim-obscene: Number of luxury cars used by the Government soars thanks to Hillary Clinton and her 'distinguished foreign visitors'.
The number of limousines owned by the Government has risen dramatically under the Obama administration, with most bought by Hillary Clinton, it has emerged.
In a show of excess during a time of economic austerity, the number of the luxury cars owned by the U.S. Government increased by a huge 73 per cent in the first two years of Obama's presidency.
The marked increase in purchases of limousines, which are usually associated with movie stars and bachelorette parties, was immediately blamed on Hillary Clinton's State Department, which laid out for the majority of the haul.
With each Cadillac DTS costing the taxpayer more than $60,000, the fleet is likely to have come at a cost of more than $10million.
Officials said the cars, many of which are armoured, are needed to protect diplomats in an increasingly dangerous world.
Critics, on the other hand, said the extravagant purchases were hypocritical at a time of a budget crisis.
The figures, obtained by iWatch News, emerged just a week after the President gave an executive order charging agencies with increasing the fuel efficiency of their fleets.
The number of limos owned by Uncle Sam almost doubled from 238 in 2008, George W. Bush's last year in office, to 412 in 2010, according to General Services Administration.
111 of the 174 which were added came in 2009, immediately after Obama took over the White House.
Hillary Clinton's State Department has been the most extravagant and now alone owns 259 limos.
194 of these have been bought in the past three to four years, with 98 of them defined as 'law enforcement', meaning they come equipped with sirens, lights and high performance drivetrains for undercover surveillance operations.
THE HUGE FEDERAL FLEETThe Government owned 238 limos in 2008, George W. Bush's last year in office
That figure rose to 412 by 2010 under Obama
111 of the 174 which were added came in the 2009 financial year
Hillary Clinton's State Department owns a huge 259 limos
98 of these are 'law enforcement' vehicles, meaning they are equipped to run undercover operations
Most of the limos used are Cadillac DTSs, which can cost more than $60,000
The department, however, said it primarily uses its massive fleet for Mrs Clinton and her 'distinguished foreign visitors'.
In a statement, it said the number of cars bought had increased 'both in proportion to the increased threat to diplomats serving overseas and is in proportion to the increase number of diplomats we have serving in high threat environments.'
Most of the limos used by Mrs Clinton's department are Cadillac DTSs, which can cost the taxpayer more than $60,000.
It has also purchases some right-hand drive 7-Series BMWs for ambassadors in foreign countries where they drive on the other side of the road.
Leslie Paige, spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, told iWatch News the new federal limos were 'one more reason why there is so much cynicism in the public about what goes on in Washington.'
She also dismissed the suggestion that they had been bought for security reasons, saying the threat of terrorism had become an easy justification for increased federal spending.
Other departments were not so lucky, losing its number of limos under the Obama administration.
The Department of Homeland Security, which had the second largest number of limos at 118 in 2010, has lost four limos since 2008.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, which had 21 limousines in 2008 under George W. Bush, now has just one and the Government Printing Office lost all of its six limos between 2009 and 2010.
A spokeswoman for the GSA attempted to argue their figures might not be accurate.
Sara Merriam said: 'The categories in the Fleet Report are overly broad, and the term "limousine" is not defined.
'Vehicles represented as limousines can range from protective duty vehicles to sedans,' she added.
The figures have emerged at a time when the Government is supposedly raising its green profile by cutting back on its fleet of vehicles.
President Obama issued a memorandum last Tuesday requiring agencies to buy only cars that use alternative fuels by 2015.
Executive fleets were also instructed to also use just medium and small cars in the future, with the exception of law enforcement and security cars, which make up the majority of the federal fleet.
The federal government spent $1.9billion on new vehicles in the 2009 financial year, with its 60,000 vehicles using a huge 963,000 gallons of fuel a day.
___________
My Schedule of Regular Posts
*Monday through Friday morning - schedules of President, VP and Secretary of State and her diplomats
*Monday through Friday afternoon - List of topics Limbaugh discussed on his program that day
*Monday through Friday throughout the day - My posts on anything that I feel like talking about. At least one or two a day, sometimes more.
*Saturday through Sunday morning - An addition to my booklist of political books - covering Democrats, Republicans and other interested parties.
No comments:
Post a Comment