Background: America Rising and other Republicans are attacking Hillary Clinton’s Senate travel in 2008.
The Facts:
Clinton’s flights were commonplace for senators. “While the flights fell within congressional rules and were not out of the ordinary for senators at the time, they could play into the emerging Republican line of attack that Clinton’s wealth and years in government office have left her out of touch with the voters she’ll court on the campaign trail.” [Bloomberg, 1/29/14]
The flights were paid for by her Senate office budget, which is a fixed sum. “The money came out of her Senate office budget, which is a fixed sum.” [Bloomberg,1/29/14]
The flights were only between Washington D.C. and cities in New York, the state she was representing in the Senate. “Clinton charged taxpayers $14,801.86 for 11 privately chartered trips she took between the time she announced her first presidential bid in early 2007 through the end of the Democratic primary in June 2008. In each case, she flew between Washington and New York or between cities within her home state.” [Bloomberg, 1/29/14]
The flights made it easier for Clinton to visit her constituents. “Nick Merrill, a Clinton spokesman, said she flew on chartered planes to make it easier to visit her constituents, one reason the Senate allows lawmakers to use private jets. ‘As a cornerstone of her tireless work on behalf of New York, she constantly crisscrossed the state to meet with the people she represented,’ Merrill said in a statement. ‘As anyone in the Senate representing a large state knows — and as reported down to the penny in public filings — that means going to hard-to-reach places, not just those conveniently located near major airports.’ Clinton took all forms of transportation to get around the state and her constituents rewarded her for it, Merrill said. ‘She did whatever it took to get to where the people of New York actually lived and worked,’ he said. ‘Based on her resounding re-election, that’s exactly what her constituents expected of her.’” [Bloomberg, 1/29/14]