Obama family travel, vacations, cross $85 million mark

[jimnyc]

This is what I have often complained about. Look, I understand that ALL presidents deserve time off and vacations. I don't even care if the family took less/more than others. But the costs. When you go to Hawaii, and bring a shitload of your friends, knowing the costs and security - dial it back a little. But nope, that didn't happen. And that's where Mooch came from. When you KNOW you are killing the taxpayers - and telling them to save their pennies at the same time - then don't kill those taxpayers with such vacations and bringing along so much company.

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The first family has spent over $10 million a year on travel and vacations, and the still growing bill has crossed over $85 million in eight years, according to a watchdog group.

Judicial Watch, which has charted the travel of presidents for years, on Monday said that it has received a new batch of bills for the first family's Christmas break in Hawaii, bringing that trip to nearly $5 million. The Obama's are expected to return to Hawaii this Christmas.

The expenses cover items such as security, flights and hotel rooms for staff and U.S. Secret Service. They do not include the price of prepositioning ships and aircraft in the area or much of the communications costs.

From Judicial Watch:

Judicial Watch announced today that it obtained records from the U.S. Secret Service revealing that its travel expenses for the First Family's 2015 Hawaiian vacation cost taxpayers $1.2 million, which bring the total cost of the vacation trip to at least $4.8 million. This was the Obamas' eighth Hawaiian family vacation. The trip has become an annual event for the Obamas. To date, Obama's and his family's travel expenses total at least $85,029,819.

The records obtained by Judicial Watch for Obama's Secret Service travel to Hawaii reveal the following expenses totaling $1,234,316.67:

Hotel and lodging costs totaled $1,000,458.63.

The Secret Service spent $165,893.88 on car rentals.

Air and rail expenses totaled $67,964.16.

Although the vacation officially lasted from December 18, 2015, to January 3, 2016, the Secret Service rented several Kailua homes for 19 nights, starting from December 16. The total for the rentals, located near the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay was $245,993.12.

According to bills obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Secret Service also paid for rooms at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club. The Secret Service also reserved rooms at the Moana Surfrider resort on Waikiki Beach, and the Ala Moana Hotel, which cost a total of $40,249.48 and $671,895.99, respectively.

The Secret Service rented cars from Avis, Alamo, and Hertz – 103 cars for the two-week vacation, totaling $165,893.88 in taxpayer money.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-family-travel-vacations-cross-85-million-mark/article/2608882

[NightTrain]

He's had no respect for taxpayer money, which is expected with a community organizer.

I'd like to know how much his golf trips have cost.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Typical libs, grab as much as they can--while vilifying anybody from the opposite camp for doing that.
These people are pure scum, exalted to high office by other ffing pure scum and brainwashed , ignorant voters.
Entire family is not even worth TAKING THE TIME AND TROUBLE TO SPIT ON IMHO..
More apt description of them = maggots.....TYR

[Elessar]

Well.....You know this opens the gate for "But GWB went to his Texas ranch XX number of times!"

Key word in that is HIS. How much shorter of a trip is it? How much had to be spent
for lodging his security detail? How much rental did the taxpayers fork out for HIS ranch?

[gabosaurus]

Well.....You know this opens the gate for "But GWB went to his Texas ranch XX number of times!"

Key word in that is HIS. How much shorter of a trip is it? How much had to be spent
for lodging his security detail? How much rental did the taxpayers fork out for HIS ranch?

Not every president has been wealthy enough to own their own spacious ranch. Which had its own security detail 24/7 for all eight years that GW Bush was in office. What was the cost of that to the taxpayers?

All presidents have taken trips on Air Force One. They have all been detailed.

http://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/presidential-travel-costs-to-taxpayers-april-snapshot

http://www.ntu.org/foundation/page/international-presidential-travel-cost-analyses-archive

[jimnyc]

I don't have an issue with the vacations themselves, they're entitled, so bringing up GWB's ranch or what not doesn't matter. I'm confident that these folks are fully aware of the amount of money that things are costing taxpayers.

^^ Those trips linked above - I have no issues when it's foreign trips visiting allies or what not, things as part of being POTUS, but that's different than many vacations, costing as much or more.

[jimnyc]

Not every president has been wealthy enough to own their own spacious ranch. Which had its own security detail 24/7 for all eight years that GW Bush was in office. What was the cost of that to the taxpayers?

All presidents have taken trips on Air Force One. They have all been detailed.

http://www.ntu.org/foundation/detail/presidential-travel-costs-to-taxpayers-april-snapshot

http://www.ntu.org/foundation/page/international-presidential-travel-cost-analyses-archive

Those links cover mostly business trips using the plane.

Yep, it DID cost taxpayers money for security for GWB while he was in Crawford. But a HELL of a lot less when going "home" as opposed to have had secured him, all his friends, bring along AF1, and the detail and what not that it would entail.

[gabosaurus]

Those links cover mostly business trips using the plane.

Yep, it DID cost taxpayers money for security for GWB while he was in Crawford. But a HELL of a lot less when going "home" as opposed to have had secured him, all his friends, bring along AF1, and the detail and what not that it would entail.

I would like to see the figures. I am guessing the costs are comparable. And I believe Obama has taken less vacation time than GW Bush did.

[NightTrain]

I would like to see the figures. I am guessing the costs are comparable. And I believe Obama has taken less vacation time than GW Bush did.

This is the part where you research something for yourself, for once.

Try it, you might like it.

[Elessar]

I would like to see the figures. I am guessing the costs are comparable. And I believe Obama has taken less vacation time than GW Bush did.

The comparisons are bullshit. GWB owns his property. He did not have to rent rooms for his detail.
He did not have to rent vehicles to augment the security details. They were in his home and compound.

Where was OBAMA'S famous home in Chicago? That's right...he deserted it! He did not or does not own
the property in Hawaii. He just claims it as 'home'.

[gabosaurus]

The comparisons are bullshit. GWB owns his property. He did not have to rent rooms for his detail.
He did not have to rent vehicles to augment the security details. They were in his home and compound.


The security costs are comparable.
Obama was born in Hawaii. That makes it his home state.

[jimnyc]

I would like to see the figures. I am guessing the costs are comparable. And I believe Obama has taken less vacation time than GW Bush did.

The amount of extra people going on trips will increase costs. Going to Hawaii, home state or not, they didn't have free places to put all those folks and security as Bush did. Nor did he kill the taxpayers with AF1 costs and the rest of the team coming with him.

[Elessar]

The security costs are comparable.
Obama was born in Hawaii. That makes it his home state.

Security detail is already accounted for in their budget. But moving them and housing them is
quite different.

So it is claimed as his 'home state'...how much property does he own there compared to
Crawford, where GWB did not have to use more taxpayer funds to service and house the entourage`?

It's really quite simple. How much did it cost to load a C-5 or C-17 with the president's security vehicles
for a bunch of HI vacations compared to those in TX?

Some people need to think outside of the box on these issues.

[sundaydriver]

The comparisons are bullshit. GWB owns his property. He did not have to rent rooms for his detail.
He did not have to rent vehicles to augment the security details. They were in his home and compound.

Large trailers were placed at the ranch for staff and detail and a hanger was built for Marine One.

An extra cost though was Air force One dropping GWB off at the ranch then returning to Andrews to wait to pick him up. So most flights to the ranch were doubled for each ranch trip.