Obama’s Africa Trip Cost Taxpayers $6 Million on Airfare Alone

President Obama’s recent trip to Kenya and Ethiopia ran taxpayers roughly $6 million on roundtrip air transportation alone.

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation conducted a study based on presidential travel abroad and determined the cost of the trip using total flight time and costs per hour to fly Air Force One.

The Washington Examiner reports:

The taxpayer watchdog group determined that Obama’s trip from Joint Base Andrews to Nairobi, Kenya, then to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia then home today has a total flight time of 29 hours.

The Air Force recently told Judicial Watch that it cost $206,337 an hour to fly Air Force One, putting the price just for Obama’s jet at $5,983,773, said NTUF. Not included are the many millions more for lodging, security, communications and the prepositioning of cars, vans and aircraft for the president.

Study author and policy analyst Michael Tasselmyer said, “While flight costs can be estimated, the rest of the expenses associated with travel, including security, lodging, food, and more, not just for the president and Air Force One, but additional staff and airplanes, remains opaque.”

The National Taxpayer Union Foundation also concluded that President Obama has now tied Bill Clinton for most international travel–with 41 trips–by their seventh year in office. Obama’s top destinations include Mexico and France, having visited each five times.

George W. Bush, by comparison, took 38 international trips at this point in his presidency. Reagan took 21.

http://freebeacon.com/politics/obamas-africa-trip-cost-taxpayers-6-million-on-airfare-alone/

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