"Vice President's Office Keeps Travel Expenses Under Wraps"

WP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/28/AR2005112801446.html

Vice President's Office Keeps Travel Expenses Under Wraps

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Open-government advocates say that Vice President Cheney is to executive branch secrecy what darkness is to the night.

In 2001, Cheney famously refused to disclose the names of oil company executives and others who attended meetings of a White House energy task force that he headed, which helped draft a national energy policy

More recently, a government watchdog group has called attention to less noticed records that Cheney has sought to keep private: travel costs.

In a report this month, the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity said Cheney and his staff have sidestepped regulations that require annual reporting of travel expenses of more than $250 received from outside groups. The center, which focuses on ethics and public service issues, said previous vice presidents routinely disclosed such payments for lodging, travel and food when the veep and his staff made appearances at colleges, think tanks and trade associations.

<<snip>>

Yet, according to the center's research, Cheney has given 23 speeches to think tanks and trade organizations and 16 at academic institutions since 2001 -- apparently all at taxpayers' expense.

keeping god knows what body part in a functioning state.

mechanical, nuts and bolts.

who has "town hall meetings" to push his policies and only supporters are let in. We pay for that too and I have always wondered how that can be legal. It's one thing when campaigning using campaign funds, but once he is president, how can he do that?

Since I have never heard it questioned perhaps it is legal, though it should not be. I'm not sure how that is much different then cheney slithering around to his people.

if taxpayers are footing the bill we should be allowed in.