(from the I want a boat too, but I don’t expect someone else to pay for it dept.)
(via Eschaton)
Congress Passes $388 Billion Spending Bill:
The Senate voted 65-30 for the legislation late on Saturday that sets aside funds for a range of priorities including a presidential yacht, foreign aid and energy. It is one of the final pieces of work for the 108th Congress and they may return to finish a spy agency overhaul before the end of the year.
Presidential yacht? WTF? I wonder how many people went into the voting booth on Nov. 2 and thought, “I’m going to vote Republican, because this country really needs a presidential yacht.”
Actually, I’m all for the preservation of presidential yachts and other historic vessels (if this is the purpose of this appropriation). But don’t you think there should be other spending priorities?
UPDATE: Budget bill has $15.8B in extras:
$2 million for the government to buy back the presidential yacht USS Sequoia, sold in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter to demonstrate frugality.
The Republicans are showing fiscal responsibility by undoing Jimmy Carter’s act of frugality. Welcome to bizarro world. By the way, the Sequoia seems to be in good hands, so this is not a case of preserving a historic landmark.
Turns out it’s not Dubya that wants the Yacht. The President and the VP have access to the the boat whenever they want, but neither according to the owner have been on the thing since some time in 2001. It is Congressman Young a Republican from Florida who also happens to be the same guy who defended the Istook Ammendement allowing the Appropropriations Committee to look at your tax returns. It just so happens that Bill Young is the Chairman fo the Appropriations Committee. His spokesperson said he was afraid that the yacht would be used as a riverboat casino somewhere, but considering that it costs $500,000/year to maintain and can only cary 49 passengers at a time , I think the riverboat scenario is unlikely.