Civic Register
| 9.20.17

HHS Secretary Slashes Budgets But Rides In Private Jets

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What’s the story?

Last week Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price chartered five separate private jets for official business, according to reports in Politico, to locations in the northeast, including Philadelphia, which is only a two and a half hour drive from Washington, D.C.

Price has presented himself as a "champion of fiscal efficiency", criticizing federal spending and working to develop a plan to significantly reduce his department’s budget. In a statement to Congress about his budget Price noted the hard choices that must be made to benefit the American taxpayer:

"Tough choices had to be made to identify and reduce spending within the department. Our goal is to … [try] to decrease the areas where there are either duplications, redundancies or waste … and get a larger return for the investment of the American taxpayer."

Why does it matter?

Government officials using chartered flights to conduct official business is legal, but ethics watchdogs argue that the use of private jets in these cases betrays the "spirit" of the Federal Travel Regulations, which state that, “taxpayers should pay no more than necessary for your transportation.”

At approximately the same time that Secretary Price’s chartered flight to Philadelphia left Dulles International Airport in D.C. Politico found that there was a commercial flight available, which would have cost approximately $447-$725 per person. There were also four separate Amtrak trains available, at a price of $72 per person. Gas for a trip via car would have cost approximately $30 each way with an additional $16 in tolls.

A charter company that handles aircraft of the same type that Price used for the Dulles to Philadelphia flight estimated the cost at $25,000.

HHS staff reported to Politico that the Secretary has been using chartered flights for official business for months.

Official representatives at HHS responded to requests for comment by saying that the secretary uses charters when commercial flights are not "feasible," and that all his travel has been in accordance with federal regulations:

"Official travel by the secretary is done in complete accordance with Federal Travel Regulations."

Neither of Price’s immediate predecessors used chartered flights for any official travel except to remote areas of Alaska, according to former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

During the Secretary’s confirmation process ethics questions were raised concerning stock trades Price made in health-care companies while serving on a House panel overseeing Obamacare and other health issues.

Price also attracted controversy in May when he visited West Virginia’s statehouse and a reporter was arrested for asking him questions about the House’s attempts at repealing the Affordable Care Act. The reporter, Dan Heyman, was handcuffed and charged with a misdemeanor count of willful disruption of government processes. He spent eight hours in jail until his employer, the Public News Service, posted his $5,000 bail.

What do you think?

Is Secretary Price violating the "spirit" of Federal Travel Regulations? Should the Office of Government Ethics look into the cost of Price’s travel and whether or not less expensive options were “feasible”? If Secretary Price is calling for “cost efficiencies” for his department, do his travel choices make sense? Do the Secretary’s choices around travel matter to you at all?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Mark Taylor via Flickr/ Creative Commons)

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