[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SPEAKER GINGRICH ON FREQUENT FLIER PERK

  (Ms. McKINNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, yesterday's Atlanta Journal and 
Constitution reported that my colleague from the 6th District of 
Georgia not only likes his frequent flyer perks, he also prefers to fly 
first class at the taxpayer's expense.
  It appears that Government spending is only a problem for my 
colleague when it is used to help people who actually need it. While 
many people are scraping by on a minimum wage that makes welfare look 
attractive, they are supposed to take comfort in knowing that some in 
this body are using tax dollars for wide-body seats.
  Mr. Speaker, the article referred to follows:

                               Coming Up

       Today: Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) and Sen. Mark Hatfield 
     (R-Ore.) reintroduce the ``Arms Trade Code of Conduct,'' 
     which would prohibit the government from selling or giving 
     weapons to regimes that violate human rights or are 
     undemocratic.
       A quick look at today's activities involving House Speaker 
     Newt Gingrich of Georgia:


                                schedule

       8 a.m.: Speaks at Capitol Hill Club Headliner Breakfast.
       10:40 a.m.: Regular morning news conference on C-SPAN.
       2:30 p.m.: Speaks to National Association of Independent 
     Colleges and Universities.
       7 p.m.: Speaks to National Association of Wholesaler 
     Distributors, receives national leadership award.
       What fear of flying? New York Magazine says Gingrich, who 
     has been battling to keep frequent-flier miles accruing from 
     government-paid tickets, seems to be partial to flying first 
     class.
       The AJC reported that in the year and a half before 
     assuming the speakership, Gingrich flew back and forth 
     between Atlanta and Washington 125 times, traveling first 
     class nearly half of the time. When accompanied by reporters 
     and Delta chairman Ron Allen on a recent flight, says the 
     magazine, he flew economy, boasting that he always travels 
     that way. On the very next flight, he was back in first 
     class, with its wide seats and free liquor.
       Now he's in on Out: Gingrich's new fame and position have 
     made him cover boy of a slew of magazines lately. In his 
     latest such sighting, his smiling face graces the cover of 
     Out, on newsstands today. The article, ``The Newt Era: Is it 
     good for the gays?'' by Newsweek correspondent Mark Miller, 
     considers whether Gingrich's recent statements about 
     tolerance for homosexuals are ``a small step in the right 
     direction or an insidious act of political pragmatism.''

                              {time}  1020

  The Constitution article goes on to say that Gingrich flew back and 
forth between Atlanta and Washington 125 times, traveling first class 
nearly half of the time, but when accompanied by reporters and Delta 
chairman Ron Allen on a recent flight, he boasted that he always 
travels economy. On the very next flight he was back in 


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