Dick Pombo, National Parks hypocrite

California Rep. Dick Pombo, the man who loves to hate National Parks, took a two-week family vacation through some of those National Parks in the summer of 2003 — at taxpayer expense.

His hometown newspaper, the Tracy Press, reports:

Pombo was reimbursed $4,935.87 to rent the RV and spent $1,500.51 on a government credit card for “travel subsistence” during a two-week span from July 27 to Aug. 11, 2003, according to a Resources Committee spending ledger obtained by the Press.

A spokesman for the House Resources Committee, Brian Kennedy, said the RV rental was the only vacation expense covered by taxpayers. The credit card bill referenced in the Statement of Disbursements for the House was for expenses incurred during previous field hearings, he said.

Kennedy defended Pombo’s expenses. He said Pombo spent those two weeks visiting and meeting with officials at 10 national parks, over which his committee has jurisdiction.

“You bet his family was with him, of course,” Kennedy said. “What better way to see and judge the visitor experience of a national park?”

Nice try, Mr. Kennedy. Let’s look at House rules, even though your boss doesn’t like to:

House rules dictate “official travel may not be for personal … purposes,” but allows for members of Congress to bring family members along on official trips. …

House travel rules require that members reimburse travel expenses for family members accompanying them on chartered airplanes paid for with government money, but no similar rule exists for RV travel.

The rules also require that personal travel in officially rented vehicles be kept to a minimum and must “not otherwise constitute a significant activity or event.”

No Resources Committee staff members or fellow members of Congress accompanied Pombo on the trip, and Kennedy said he did not know how Pombo’s family occupied themselves while he was in meetings.

It is unclear exactly how much of Pombo’s time during the two-week span was spent on official business, but it was “probably a substantial amount,” Kennedy said.

Bottom line: The man who wants to close and/or sell off National Parks and chunks of National Parks certainly was NOT there for the “visitor experience.” Or, if he was, then he’s being an even bigger hypocrite than he’s shown himself to be before.

Picture these vacation comments:

"Hey, look, kids, see that endangered grizzly here in Yellowstone? He's interfering with possible oilwell drilling or coalbed methane exploring."

Or, "Hey, honey, do you think a golf course developer here in Rocky Mountain would give us free country club membership?"

Or, "Hey, family, I have to stop for a minute and take care of some 'official business' - I have to call a gypsum miner about this piece of White Sands."