In addition to flying on private planes for several domestic trips, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price flew on military planes for trips to Europe, Africa and Asia over the summer, costing taxpayers more than $500,000, Politico reported Thursday evening.
The report on Price’s travel patterns abroad comes as he is under intense scrutiny for spending thousands of taxpayer dollars on private jets to fly up and down the East Coast for official events. The health secretary said yesterday that he will repay the government $51,887.31 for the cost of his seats on the charter planes, not the entire bill for the flights, which cost more than $400,000 in total, per Politico’s estimates.
The White House approved Price’s use of a military plane for the trips abroad and told Politico that military planes are sometimes necessary for Cabinet heads.
“Use of military aircraft for Cabinet and other essential travelers is sometimes an appropriate and necessary use of resources,” White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told Politico.
HHS spokeswoman Charmaine Yoest told Politico that the use of a military plane was “important for maintaining security and having secure communications.”
On the trips abroad, Price’s wife accompanied him, and HHS told Politico that the secretary paid the government for the cost of his wife’s travel. Some Price staffers flew on commercial flights for the trips abroad, per Politico.
Price traveled to Berlin, Geneva, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo on a government plane for meetings with international health officials, Politico reported. He also took a separate trip to Liberia to discuss the response to Ebola, per Politico.
Kathleen Sebelius, a former health and human services secretary under President Barack Obama, told Politico that she always flew commercial on her trips abroad. Another health secretary under Obama, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, used a government plane for a trip to Cuba, former HHS aides told Politico, but Burwell did not respond to questions about her travel abroad.
