House jet request flies in face of recession realities

This editorial appears in the Yakima Herald-Republic on Aug. 12, 2009.

Surely House leadership didn't think the prospect of buying an additional four new corporate jets would fly with the American public?

But they did.

House leaders backed down only after news reports last week, most prominently from the Wall Street Journal, revealed the full details of this purchase.

It appeared so routine. Before heading out on summer recess, lawmakers voted to add four more aircraft to an earlier request for four other new planes by the Air Force and Defense Department. The planes were to be added to a fleet of about 24 aircraft that the Air Force maintains for use by lawmakers, administration officials and military brass for trips in the U.S. and abroad.

The four planes that the House wanted the Pentagon to buy were two 737s and two Gulfstream V planes. The 737s cost $70 million each while the Gulfstream version is priced at $66 million.

The full $550 million appropriation for all eight planes still needed to be approved by the Senate. That won't be necessary now after Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, declared Monday the four new aircraft -- and possibly all eight -- will be dropped from the Pentagon's spending bill.

Murtha still defended the appropriation, claiming the newer aircraft would be cheaper to maintain and operate than the older versions.

Well, bully for you, John. How about flying coach for a change?

Congress can pencil out all of the future savings it wants to. That still doesn't excuse the appearance of irresponsibility that these proposed purchases sends to the American public suffering through one of this nation's worst recessions in history.

Did Murtha and the House leadership glance at the jobless report released last Friday? Perhaps they looked only at the official unemployment rate, which actually fell from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent for July. That's because only 247,000 jobs were lost. While that is the smallest monthly figure since last summer, what comfort can lawmakers find in knowing there are another quarter-million Americans who have lost their jobs?

So far 6.7 million jobs have been lost since the recession started in December 2007. Of that figure, 5 million workers have been unemployed for more than six months. That's the highest figure since records have been kept.

And against this backdrop of joblessness, a majority in the House thought it was fiscally prudent to buy, not one, but four new jets for themselves. Try to tell that to a single mom who just got laid off and is struggling to put food on the table for her family. Try to convince her that a $66 million corporate jet is what this country needs at this time.

These are the same lawmakers who blistered automobile executives earlier in the year for flying their corporate jets -- instead of driving company cars or taking commercial flights -- to hearings where they were pleading for taxpayer bailout funds. How is a General Motors' corporate jet any different than a shiny new Gulfstream V for Congress? More cupholders?

Symbols are important. Failing to recognize their significance smacks of arrogance. In this recession, that's something we can do without.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.

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