Republican opponents are berating Vice President Joe
Biden on Twitter for running up more than $1 million in hotel bills for
two nights in London and Paris in the midst of sequester spending cuts.
According to ABC News,
the VP incurred hotel bills totaling more than $1 million for himself,
his staff and security details for two nights in London and Paris.
The official contract filing documents were first obtained online by the Weekly Standard.
They show that the US State Department obtained contracts with two
five-star hotels in London and Paris where Biden stayed during a
five-day tour of Europe in February.
According to the documents, his bill for a night at the Hyatt Regency London was $459,338.65 and his bill for a night at the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, $585,000.50.
The Weekly Standard
explains that "due to obvious security concerns, such contracts are not
open to the competitive bidding normally required on government
contracts."
The accompanying document for the London contract says that the vice
president and his entourage required "approximately 136 hotel rooms for
893 room nights." This amounts to about $500 per night at the hotel.
According to the Daily Mail,
Biden probably stayed in a two-room, 1,851-square-foot Presidential
Suite with an interconnecting entertainment area, marble bathrooms and
"upscale" linens. He traveled with his wife Dr Jill Biden.
A State Department official, responding to critics, said that the bills
may look hefty but they are "nothing out of the ordinary," ABC News reports.
The official said: "They are in line with high-level travel across
multiple administrations. The contract costs cover the entire range of
support, including accommodations for military, communications, secret
service staff, and other support professionals. Security experts are
also required to travel in advance of the president or vice president.
Safety and security are not negotiable."
According to the Daily Mail,
Brad Dayspring, strategist for the National Republican Senatorial
Committee, making a reference to the Obama administration's decision to
stop tours at the White House because of budget cuts, said: "Bet that's a
lot of White House tours."
The controversial conservative commentator Ann Coulter, joked on
Twitter, saying: "We need to keep him out of the mini-bar," even though
Biden is known to be a teetotaler who abstains from alcohol, as the Daily Mail notes.
Conservative Congressman Randy Neugebauer from Texas also used the opportunity to attack the Democrat's plan for spending cuts. Newsmax reported he said: "Still no WH tours, but VP Biden’s recent trip to Europe racked up $1mil in hotel room bills."
ABC News
notes that in comparison, a 1999 GAO report showed that President Bill
Clinton's trips to Africa, Chile and China in 1998 cost $42.8 million,
$10.5 million and $18.8 million, respectively, a total of over $72
million.
The White House does not normally disclose the amount paid for the trips
of the president and the vice president. Responding to a question about
how much the president's trip to Illinois cost earlier in the month,
the White House press secretary Jay Carney said: "I don’t have a figure
on the cost of presidential travel. It is obviously something, as every
president deals with because of security and staff, a significant
undertaking. But the president has to travel around the country. He has
to travel around the world. That is part of his job."
President Obama also defended the cost of his trips and allegations that
he his out of touch with Americans with his family "jetting around."
He told KMOV:
"The fact of the matter is, I think if you look at my track record, I’m
raising a family here. When we travel, we got to travel through Secret
Service, and Air Force One, that’s not my choice. I think most folks
understand how hard I work and how hard this administration is working
on behalf of the American people."
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