Congress & Their Spouses Jet Setting on the Tax Payer

ABC News' Jonathan Karl and Kirit Radia report:

A senior State Department official today issued a lengthy defense of one of the Congressional trips highlighted in a story last night on ABC News' World News with Charles Gibson. ABC's story, however, did not question the validity of the meetings, just the high cost of shuttling members of Congress and their spouses around the world on military jets.

Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried sent an unsolicited statement to ABC responding to the story's mention of a recent (ongoing, really) congressional delegation to Europe headed by Rep John Tanner, D-Tenn.

"I know and appreciate first hand the hard and valuable work these legislators do to advance our foreign policy. Imagine my surprise, then, when I heard that ABC News slammed one of the best-prepared, most tasks-and-results-oriented Congressional Delegations that I know. Bad call by ABC," he said.

Fried argues the trip was necessary to consult with NATO parliamentarians in Brussels, the OSCE in Vienna, the George Marshall Center in Germany (based near a Bavarian ski resort), and the OECD in Paris.

"Should we boycott any of these institutions? I thought we needed to reach out to Europe, building the ties to help us manage together the tough problems America and Europe face. Is it better to stay at home? Would that be the new leadership the President speaks of? To be blunt: the time is past for cheap shots," Fried wrote.

Fried's statement, however, does not address the practice of sending members of Congress and their spouses abroad on private military jets, a travel option exponentially more expensive than commercial air travel.

For example, if a charter jet were to take Rep Tanner and his group on the same trip it would cost over $200,000.

The exact costs for the military jet travel are a tightly guarded secret, but would cost even more than a charter plane. Neither Congress nor the Pentagon would reveal exactly how big the bill is.

Before departing for Europe Tanner told ABC News "This is not something that we are going 'oh let's go here, lets go there.' There is a reason we are going to every stop." - ABC News

OK, Could someone please explain to me just what in heck these people in Washington are thinking? You have the President spending Millions flying around the Country Selling the Economy, Now you have members of Congress flying around the globe with their spouses. Are any of these really necessary in light of the Economic mess we are in. On top of that, why isn't Congress flying on Commercial Jets or at least Charters that put the money into the Economy.

By the way, why is it Top Secret how much it costs for this trip? Besides isn't Obama suppose to be making things like this more transparent. Maybe it is Hillary and the State Department wearing the pants. Of Course there is Pelosi also.