The official blog of the Libertarian Party
November 30, 2005
Vice President Cheney Keeps Travel Costs Secret
The Center for Public Integrity, a government watchdog group, has called to attention the fact that Vice President Cheney and his staff have not publicly disclosed their travel costs. By keeping it private, the group says, "the public is kept largely unaware of where he and his staff are traveling, with whom they are meeting with and how much it costs, even though tax dollars are covering the bill."
According to research conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, Cheney has made 275 speeches and appearances from 2001 to June 1, 2005. His office designated all of them as 'official travel' and refused to disclose any information about the trips. Cheney's office has repeatedly told the Office of Government Ethics that it is not required to provide any travel disclosure reports.
David Addington, the Counsel to the Vice President claimed in a letter to the Office of Government Ethics that Cheney's office is not classified as an agency of the executive branch and is therefore not required to issue reports on travel, lodging and related expenses funded by non-federal sources.
Cheney has claimed his office is exempted from travel disclosure regulations even though almost every office within the Executive Office of the President, except the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, has reported their travel costs, according to the Washington Post.
The Center for Public Integrity said previous presidents have routinely disclosed their travel expenses. Former director of the Office of Government Ethics, Stephen D. Potts, said, "It is unusual that the [Office of the Vice President] alone would claim such an exemption. The argument that they are not an agency of the executive branch seems a bit of a reach."
By not voluntarily disclosing his office's travel costs, Cheney is suggesting that he may be hiding something, says Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
Other blogs have commented on this story. Cracks in the Facade, noted Cheney's lack of disclosure, making a point that "secrecy is a breeding ground for corruption and abuse of power." The Independent Report is reluctant in believing anything that comes from the Vice President's office and believes Cheney is hiding something.
Posted by at November 30, 2005 05:19 PM
Reader Comments:
The papers which show his expense account spending are kept in a non-disclosed location.
It's hard to believe the guy at all. He's gotta be hiding something.
Nigel I see you decide to show up. You should look at the last three comments at the end on the Regarding Bingo Halls. I am surprise they still haven't removed that one post.
Why on earth would I check the old threads?
This doesn't relate directly to the blog entry; I'm actually hoping someone can make this a post in its own right or a news link from the front page:
As debate over government surveillance rages in adult society, the US Department of Justice is quietly enticing school districts to implement controversial technologies that monitor and track students. Critics fear these efforts will normalize electronic surveillance at an early age, conditioning young people to accept privacy violations while creating a market for companies that develop and sell surveillance systems.
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2632
If my school district implements that, I'm suing the bajesus out of them.
The Vice President's office is "not classified as an agency of the executive branch." I don't think it is legislative or judicial. Why is the government paying for his travel at all?
Is Cheney claiming national security or none of your business for not revealing this info?
BTW, does LP disclose such travel costs to its members? Wasn't there a scandal of sorts when the Browne campaign refused to reveal details of the presidential campaign spending? Any time that such spending isn't transparent, some one will allege improprieties and pocket-lining.
It wasn't old at the time the last post which your name was brought up. Normally you make comments on thing that is way out of content on the blog, like that obvious one on that post. hee hee
This may seem petty, but those who write the articles for this blog should proofread more carefully. The above report by Matthew Dailey, in the first paragraph, includes the phrases, "...have not publicly disclosure..." and, "By keep it private..." An important comma is also M.I.A. in the third paragraph. I'm not just picking on Mr. Dailey- this is a recurrent issue with many of these blog reports.
I refer non-libertarians to this site in order to increase awareness of the party and our beliefs, with the hope of winning more people over to the cause of freedom in America. It is difficult to sell our party as a viable, legitimate option to the R's and D's when we continue to print articles filled with grammatical and spelling errors.
This site is an important resource for attracting new members to the LP. Let's take it seriously.
No hard feelings, Mr. Dailey, but this is important.
To answer Thomas's question a few post back, the Vice President is actually a member of both the legislative and executive branches of government. Executive in his capacity as Vice President, Legislative in his capacity as President of the Senate. So theoretically, he could be traveling under the auspices of either.
I must disagree, Mark B. Why must the Vice-President travel out of Washington at all? His role under the Constitution is to chair the Senate and be available in case the President dies. That's it. Or as the old joke goes, his job is to have a pulse. He has no other Constitutional role.
So I don't really see how he could theoretically be travelling as either a member of the Legislative or Executive branches. His defined role in both branches precludes any necessity for travel.
LTV
I really do not believe you, The Vice president is handling sensitive issues that should be kept confidential. There is a lot more going on that maybe you do not need to know on some cases.
Wake up dude. What planet are you on? Next you will say we should publicize all the details of present and future troops deployment, just so your childish curiosity can be satisfied.
Of course he's keeping his travel costs a secret. People would be outraged if they knew how much it costs to run the Death Star.
Libertarian TV:
I should clarify. I was never justifying the Vice President's trips. Merely pointing out that he does serve in two branches of government. I actually oppose ALL the legislative junkets going on, by Democrat and Republican members of Congress. If travel is to be done, it should only be done either by the President himself, the Secretary of State or a member of the Diplomatic Corps that holds the title of Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Right now, I believe the only Diplomat with that title is the Ambassador to the United Nations.
True American: Name one necessary trip that the VP has made in Bush's administration that was also a part of his Constitutional job function. I bet you can't, making you the one who is asleep. Case closed.
LTV I am sure they do not advertise everything for your convience on the need to know. Maybe we need to advertise everything you do.
"True" American: You're avoiding LTV's (very good) question!
The fact Cheney won't disclose his travel info is suspicious. The majority of his travels has probably been to give speeches around the nation (and elsewhere) to promote the Republican Party...or "defend" the party's actions, as they're currently doing. As a taxpayer, I'm angered that he and other politicians use our money to give us such "service".
The Vice Presidency is an obsolete office that could probably stand to be abolished. Amend the Constitution to abolish the office and permit the Senate to elect their own President from their own membership. No real reason to keep the office from a succession standpoint, as there are plenty of officers legally in line to the presidency.
No actually I didn't avoid LTV question, are you that lame. Would you disclose your travel if the mission is in secrecy. I agree the government wasted our tax money and give themselves raises PERIOD. But at the same time there are mission that cannot be disclosed for the sake of security. Of course I had been trying to explain this, but obviously this simple information is over your head.
You act like Cheney is 007.
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The papers which show his expense account spending are kept in a non-disclosed location.
Posted by: Paul P. at November 30, 2005 05:51 PM