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Five members of the Congressional Black Caucus took a $60,000 trip to see Beyoncé and other stars perform in concert in South Africa late last year, according to congressional disclosure records.

The lawmakers were U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York, Barbara Lee of California, Bobby Rush of Illinois, Terri Sewell of Alabama and Hank Johnson of Georgia, according to the data.

They attended the “Global Citizen Mandela 100” concert from Dec. 1-3 to celebrate the centenary birth of the late Nelson Mandela and raise awareness of global poverty. In addition to Beyoncé, other musical acts included her husband Jay Z, Ed Sheeran, Pharrell Williams and Chris Martin.

The trip was paid for by Global Citizen, a nonprofit that lobbies for anti-poverty programs around the world, the Washington Examiner reported. The group said the presence of members of Congress at the concert would “showcase America’s ongoing commitment [to] health equality and global human rights.”

NEW FOOTAGE SHOWS DEMS AT S****Y 'COCKTAIL RECEPTION' IN PUERTO RICO AMID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Other celebrities at the event included Oprah Winfrey and “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah.

“In the spirit of Nelson Mandela, we pledge to keep working with our colleagues in Congress, across the country and across the aisle, to make sure that every child in Africa and at home has the opportunity to thrive and grow in a safe and prosperous world,” Meeks said, according to the Examiner.

“As a Sr. member of the Foreign Affairs Comm[ittee] who understands the importance of both multilateral & bilateral relations on trade & foreign policy, developing that relationship is crucial,” Meeks said when asked how the trip was related to his congressional duties.

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The National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, called the trip a “mockery.”

"These members of Congress that were given an all-expense paid vacation to party with Oprah, Jay Z, and Beyoncé in South Africa are claiming with a straight face this was needed to help poor children around the world live better lives," Tom Anderson, president of the NLPC's Government Integrity Project, told Examiner. "This was in fact, a mockery of House ethics rules on gifts and travel, the truly poor, and all Americans that expect members of Congress to live not only by the letter of the law but by the spirit and intentions of the rules of the House of Representatives."

"These members of Congress that were given an all-expense paid vacation to party with Oprah, Jay Z, and Beyoncé in South Africa are claiming with a straight face this was needed to help poor children around the world live better lives."

— Tom Anderson, president, National Legal and Policy Center's Government Integrity Project

 

A representative for Sewell said her travel "was pre-approved by the House Ethics Committee and was not paid for at taxpayer expense" and that "Rep. Sewell and several other members attended the Global Citizen Mandela 100 Festival, a platform for world leaders to speak out against racial injustice and inequity, and voice their support for international assistance for underprivileged populations."

According to the travel itinerary, the congressional members were in South Africa for one full day and used two partial days for travel.

In January, a group of Democrats was criticized for flying to Puerto Rico for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC gathering in San Juan, where they also attended a special performance of the Broadway play "Hamilton."

The lawmakers appeared in a photo that the Rev. Al Sharpton, who also attended the event, posted on his Twitter page.

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"These members of Congress that were given an all-expense paid vacation to party with Oprah, Jay Z, and Beyoncé in South Africa are claiming with a straight face this was needed to help poor children around the world live better lives," Tom Anderson, president of the NLPC's Government Integrity Project, told Examiner. "This was in fact, a mockery of House ethics rules on gifts and travel, the truly poor, and all Americans that expect members of Congress to live not only by the letter of the law but by the spirit and intentions of the rules of the House of Representatives."

They traveled to a nation seizing farm land, without recompense. Plus, contemplating genocide.  Boers are fleeing to Russia.  How desperate does one have to be to flee to Russia!  South Africa is one of the richest nations in Africa.  Just as Zimbabwe/Rhodesia was the bread basket of Africa.  They starved in Zimbabwe.  Next attraction coming in South Africa. 

Can someone show me the link to the topic about Trump's golfing expenses? Melania's trips to Florida? The cost of Trump spending a third of his Presidency, thus far, in Florida?

I can't seem to find the Republican outrage over Trump's travel expenses?

hy·poc·ri·sy
/həˈpäkrəsē/
noun
noun: hypocrisy; plural noun: hypocrisies
  1. the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
    "his target was the hypocrisy of suburban life"
    synonyms:sanctimoniousness, sanctimony, pietism, piousness, affected piety, affected superiority, false virtue, cant, humbug, pretense, posturing, speciousness, empty talk;
Last edited by L. Cranston

Since the beginning of Barack Obama’s administration, the Obamas have become increasingly notorious for unnecessary, luxurious travel, under the guise of official business. 

They are part of continuum reaching back across to the earliest days of the Obama administration. Recently, Judicial Watch obtained flight expense records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force revealing that Michelle Obama’s June 2015 trip to the United Kingdom and Italy, accompanied by her daughters and mother, cost the taxpayers $240,495.67 in flight expenses alone. 

The records were released in response to a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request filed on June 22, 2015. The flights to London, England; and Milan, Venice, and Vicenza, Italy, for the June 15 – 21, 2015, trip totaled 20:35 hours at the cost of $11,684 per hour, bringing the flight expense total to $240,495.67, according to the Air Force documents. 

Judicial Watch uncovered an expensive combination of trips by the Obamas to Africa and Honolulu, which cost taxpayers $15,885,585.30 in flight expenses alone. The single largest prior known expense for accommodations was for Michelle Obama’s side-trip to Dublin, Ireland, during the 2013 G-8 conference in Belfast, when she and her entourage booked 30 rooms at the five-star Shelbourne Hotel, and where she stayed in the 1500 square-foot Princess Grace suite at a cost of $3,500 a night. 

 The total cost to taxpayers for the Obamas’ Ireland trip was $7,921,638.66. To date, the known beyond-first-class travel expenses of the Obamas and Vice President Joe Biden exceed $57 million.

In February, Michelle Obama took a weekend trip to Aspen, Colorado that cost taxpayers a pretty penny; $57,068.80 in travel expenses alone for the 7.4 hour-round trip flight, according to U.S.Air Force records. 

As we previously reported, this Aspen trip occurred in tandem with President Obama’s trip to California to play golf, speak at a cyber-security summit, and headline a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee. 

The First Lady and her daughters spent Valentine’s Day weekend skiing in Aspen, returning to the White House on February 16.

The next time the First Family travels – hold on to your wallet.


https://www.newsmax.com/TomFit...015/08/24/id/671575/
--------------------------------------------------------------

MICHELLE OBAMA’S AFRICAN VACATION JUST COST US $100 MILLION

 

Michelle Obama, along with daughters Sasha and Malia, are in Africa wasting taxpayer money to promote the First Lady’s Let Girls Learn initiative. By now, we are fairly used to Michelle taking lavish vacations and pointless goodwill trips that cost us hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars, but this one is different. At a stop in Morocco, Michelle casually gave away $100 million, which we all worked hard to earn, so that girls in that country can go to school.

https://downtrend.com/71superb...cost-us-100-million/

Jack Hammer posted:

Since the beginning of Barack Obama’s administration, the Obamas have become increasingly notorious for unnecessary, luxurious travel, under the guise of official business. 

They are part of continuum reaching back across to the earliest days of the Obama administration. Recently, Judicial Watch obtained flight expense records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force revealing that Michelle Obama’s June 2015 trip to the United Kingdom and Italy, accompanied by her daughters and mother, cost the taxpayers $240,495.67 in flight expenses alone. 

The records were released in response to a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request filed on June 22, 2015. The flights to London, England; and Milan, Venice, and Vicenza, Italy, for the June 15 – 21, 2015, trip totaled 20:35 hours at the cost of $11,684 per hour, bringing the flight expense total to $240,495.67, according to the Air Force documents. 

Judicial Watch uncovered an expensive combination of trips by the Obamas to Africa and Honolulu, which cost taxpayers $15,885,585.30 in flight expenses alone. The single largest prior known expense for accommodations was for Michelle Obama’s side-trip to Dublin, Ireland, during the 2013 G-8 conference in Belfast, when she and her entourage booked 30 rooms at the five-star Shelbourne Hotel, and where she stayed in the 1500 square-foot Princess Grace suite at a cost of $3,500 a night. 

 The total cost to taxpayers for the Obamas’ Ireland trip was $7,921,638.66. To date, the known beyond-first-class travel expenses of the Obamas and Vice President Joe Biden exceed $57 million.

In February, Michelle Obama took a weekend trip to Aspen, Colorado that cost taxpayers a pretty penny; $57,068.80 in travel expenses alone for the 7.4 hour-round trip flight, according to U.S.Air Force records. 

As we previously reported, this Aspen trip occurred in tandem with President Obama’s trip to California to play golf, speak at a cyber-security summit, and headline a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee. 

The First Lady and her daughters spent Valentine’s Day weekend skiing in Aspen, returning to the White House on February 16.

The next time the First Family travels – hold on to your wallet.


https://www.newsmax.com/TomFit...015/08/24/id/671575/
--------------------------------------------------------------

MICHELLE OBAMA’S AFRICAN VACATION JUST COST US $100 MILLION

 

Michelle Obama, along with daughters Sasha and Malia, are in Africa wasting taxpayer money to promote the First Lady’s Let Girls Learn initiative. By now, we are fairly used to Michelle taking lavish vacations and pointless goodwill trips that cost us hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars, but this one is different. At a stop in Morocco, Michelle casually gave away $100 million, which we all worked hard to earn, so that girls in that country can go to school.

https://downtrend.com/71superb...cost-us-100-million/

Michelle Obama's vacations include Foreign Aid cost? Set up by Republicans? Really? You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own 'facts'.
 
 Millenial Challenge Corporation was established in 2004 by the 108th  Congress (Republican controlled) in a bill sponsored by...
Representative Henry J. Hyde
Republican
Illinois 6 House: 94th-109th (1975-2007)
 
_______________________________

Obama's total vacation cost for 8 years was just  under 100 million or about $1million/ month.
Trump's total vacation cost per month, thus far $1.8million/month.
Facts don't have a party, but hypocrisy does, evidently.
giftedamateur posted:

Michelle took her mother, cousins, and friends around the world, not to mention what her mother cost us while she leeched off of taxpayers while living in the WH. She is probably still leeching off of us.

What role do Trump Jr. and his brother play in Government? Should we taxpayers be paying their travel bill? Housing? Food? Security?

Last edited by L. Cranston
giftedamateur posted:

Michelle took her mother, cousins, and friends around the world, not to mention what her mother cost us while she leeched off of taxpayers while living in the WH. She is probably still leeching off of us.

Yes, momma is most likely still living with them at taxpayers expense.

Last edited by Jutu
Jutu posted:
giftedamateur posted:

Michelle took her mother, cousins, and friends around the world, not to mention what her mother cost us while she leeched off of taxpayers while living in the WH. She is probably still leeching off of us.

Yes, momma is most likely still living with them at taxpayers expense.

There is no extra payment for mama, now.  Obama's just drawing his presidential pension, plus social security, I assume. 

direstraits posted:
Jutu posted:
giftedamateur posted:

Michelle took her mother, cousins, and friends around the world, not to mention what her mother cost us while she leeched off of taxpayers while living in the WH. She is probably still leeching off of us.

Yes, momma is most likely still living with them at taxpayers expense.

There is no extra payment for mama, now.  Obama's just drawing his presidential pension, plus social security, I assume. 

And momma still living with them.

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