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A few days ago (August 5th), Paul Singer of Roll Call Group, wrote an article entitled "House Orders Up Three New Jets" which couldn't epitomize any clearer exactly what's wrong with Congress and exactly why the country will be facing financial ruin if Congress doesn't get its act together. The article included the following:

"Last year, lawmakers excoriated the CEOs of the Big Three automakers for traveling to Washington, D.C., by private jet to attend a hearing about a possible bailout of their companies.

But apparently Congress is not philosophically averse to private air travel: At the end of July, the House approved nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three elite Gulfstream jets for ferrying top government officials and Members of Congress.

The Air Force had asked for one Gulfstream 550 jet (price tag: about $65 million) as part of an ongoing upgrade of its passenger air service.

But the House Appropriations Committee, at its own initiative, added to the 2010 Defense appropriations bill another $132 million for two more airplanes and specified that they be assigned to the D.C.-area units that carry Members of Congress, military brass and top government officials."

It will be interesting to see what the Senate does with this "need one and buy three" jet special, but what a slap in the face to the millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet as Congress just continues to spend money it doesn't have.

It's a disgrace.

- Ed Smith, Publisher
The EHS Letter Manual