ETHICS/HHS/TOM PRICE: “Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said he would stop traveling on private jets and reimburse the federal government more than $50,000 for his flights, a day after President Donald Trump said he wasn’t pleased with the practice and signaled it could endanger his job…
Dr. Price, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, said he would fully cooperate with the previously disclosed inspector general’s investigation into his travel. He added that he has launched another internal HHS review on the matter…
An investigation by Politico found that Dr. Price had taken at least 26 charter flights since May, which also included other passengers such as staff and security officials. Politico put the total cost to the government of the flights at more than $400,000.
An HHS official said Dr. Price was reimbursing the government $51,887.31. The department didn’t provide a figure for the overall cost of the flights.
The HHS has defended Dr. Price’s use of private jets as tied to the demands of his job, including his role in the department’s response to the recent hurricanes that have hit parts of the U.S.
Dr. Price is one of several officials who have faced criticism for their use of government and private jets to fly to official events and meetings. Those flights are typically more expensive than travel on commercial airlines.”
-Eli Stokols, “Tom Price Makes Payment to Government for Use of Private Jets,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 28, 2017 07:10pm