[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 85 (Friday, June 14, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H3651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     WASTEFUL SPENDING ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S UPCOMING TRIP TO AFRICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Holding) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, in a time when many Americans are out of 
work and struggling to make ends meet, the last thing that they want to 
see is tens of millions of their taxpayer dollars being spent to send 
the President on a trip to Africa.
  Mr. Speaker, while every President deserves appropriate protective 
detail, the security provisions for President Obama's upcoming trip are 
excessive. Hundreds of Secret Service agents, over 50 vehicles, fighter 
jets, and a Navy aircraft carrier with a fully staffed medical trauma 
center will cost the government tens of millions of dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, our country is over $16 trillion in debt, and the 
government agencies have made cutbacks as a result of the sequester. It 
is no secret that we need to rein in government spending, and the Obama 
administration has regularly and repeatedly shown a lack of judgment 
for when and where to make cuts.
  For example, why should pilots' hours, Air Force pilots' hours, be 
cut back at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base so that the President can 
now have his most expensive trip since taking office?
  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the President's upcoming trip to Africa 
is going to be for less than 1 week, and that trip costs 1,350 times 
more than a week of White House tours. So for the cost of this trip to 
Africa, you could have 1,350 weeks of White House tours, which the 
White House has canceled indefinitely due to budget restraints.
  Mr. Speaker, the numbers don't lie. So either the administration is 
bad at math, or they simply don't see a problem with their excessive 
spending.
  The American people have had enough of the frivolous and careless 
spending; and they deserve real, appropriate cuts from this excessive 
administration.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

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