WASHINGTON — Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu spent $16,748 in taxpayer money on chartered plane flights around the state for her and her staff over a yearlong period beginning in April last year.
Among her trips:
Landrieu rents a private plane when she’s in the state to visit as many constituents as possible, according to her spokespeople.
Chartered flights are occasionally used so that the senator and her staff are able to visit multiple areas of the state within a short time frame.”
Republican Sen. David Vitter ranked No. 74. He spent $89,016.06 in the same time period.
Each senator decides how much of his or her office budget to spend on travel. Lawmakers typically spend more time with constituents when they are running for re-election, said Steve Ellis, vice-president of Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Landrieu is up for re-election in 2014. Vitter is up in 2016.
“Wendy (Vitter) and I live and raise our family in south Louisiana, so I go back and forth between there and Washington,” Vitter wrote in an email.
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