WASHINGTON -- Bipartisan anger is erupting in the Senate over a plan by House lawmakers to spend $550 million for additional passenger jets for senior government officials, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The plan to upgrade the fleet of government jets by buying eight Gulfstream and Boeing planes is coming at an embarrassing time for lawmakers: August is the busiest month for official overseas travel. The plan to upgrade the fleet of government jets has sparked vocal criticism from the Pentagon, which has said it doesn't need half of the new jets.
An unusual grouping of conservatives led by House Minority Leader John Boehner has found common ground on the matter with Democrats like Missouri’s Claire McCaskill.
"The whole thing kind of makes me sick to my stomach," said Mrs. McCaskill in an interview Sunday. "It is evidence that some of the cynicism about Washington is well placed -- that people get out of touch and they spend money likes it's Monopoly money."
Sen. John Thune, R., S.D., says the planned purchase "is a classic example of Congress being out of touch with the realities of deficit spending."
Read the full story at WSJ.com.
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