Update 4: Pentagon Restricts Pelosi Jet Requests

Open thread:

Editor's note: Please read down for aircraft details.

• Update: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she may decline the use of Air Force planes to travel from Washington to her San Francisco district because the Pentagon won't guarantee her an aircraft that can make the trip non-stop, reports Bloomberg.com.
  
  

  "I have said that I am happy to ride commercial if the plane they have doesn't go coast to coast," Pelosi said today.

  The Associated Press reports Pelosi received some rare help Thursday from the White House against a barrage of Republican criticism over how the new House speaker intends to get back home.
  
  

  Presidential spokesman Tony Snow said, "This is a silly story and I think it's been unfair to the speaker."

  Others, however, took a different view:
  
  

  "The jet that Pelosi has produces 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide an hour, far more than the previous speaker used," said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.

• The Department of Defense Tuesday sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that puts limits on the size of the plane she may use to travel across the country and restricts the guests she can bring, The Washington Times has learned.
  
  A congressional source who read the letter signed by Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie said it essentially limits her to the commuter plane used by former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, which requires refueling to travel from Washington to Mrs. Pelosi's San Francisco district. A second source, in the Bush administration, confirmed the contents of the letter.
  
  Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the Pelosi ally who chairs the House military appropriations subcommittee, said he has spoken to Pentagon officials about the need to provide Pelosi with a bigger plane that can fly passengers coast to coast in comfort, reports SFGate.com.
  
  Murtha said he is convinced the Pentagon has been leaking information about the possibility that Pelosi would use large military planes to make her look bad. But he said, "They're making a mistake when they leak it because she decides on allocations for them," referring to the Pentagon budget.
  
  Earlier, Mrs. Pelosi did not comment on the matter but yesterday began accusing the Bush administration of twisting the story.
  
  Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, chairman of the House Republican Conference said Pelosi's bid for a bigger plane, which he dubbed "Air Force Three," shows "an arrogance of office that just defies common sense."
  
  The Pentagon's letter leaves open the possibility that Mrs. Pelosi may get a larger plane that does not require refueling if one happens to be available in the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base. But, generally, the larger military passenger jets are in high demand, especially due to the Iraq war.
  
  The Washington Times reported earlier this week that the Pentagon denied a request by Mrs. Pelosi to fly on a military aircraft to last weekend's Democratic retreat in Williamsburg, a two-hour drive from Washington.
  
  

  "Non-governmental personnel, i.e. political supporters and contributors, may not fly," the congressional source said yesterday, paraphrasing the letter sent to Mrs. Pelosi. "The plane may not ferry her to any political events and other members may only accompany her after approval by the House ethics committee, which means Republicans would have to OK it."

• Republicans on Wednesday assailed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request for access to a large Air Force transport plane as an extravagance, reminding that former Speaker Dennis Hastert flew in a small military commuter jet, reports AP.
  
  Republicans are taking issue with the size of the plane Pelosi has requested. Pelosi had asked for access to an Air Force C-32 aircraft (45 passengers, 16 crew), a military version of the Boeing 757-200 (up to 239 passengers, 2 flightcrew). Air Force Two is a C-32 primarily used by the vice president.
  
  Hastert, an Illinois Republican, flew in a small commuter-sized C-20 jet. Pelosi and her aides say that because her congressional district is in California, her security would require a larger plane that can fly coast to coast without refueling.
  
  Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 Republican leader, said he supported the tradition of House speakers having access to secure airplanes with secure communications in the post-9/11 era, because of their spot in the presidential line of succession.
  
  But he called Pelosi's desire for a large transport "an extravagance of power that the taxpayers won't swallow."

Air Force Two. A C-32, a specially configured version of the Boeing 757-200 commercial intercontinental airliner, takes off. (U.S. Air Force photo) Are we soon to see an Air Force Three?

The C-20A/B, military versions of the Gulfstream III, were chosen in June 1983 as the replacement aircraft for the C-140B Jetstar. In 1992, Gulfstream delivered their latest model, the C-20H (Gulfstream IV) to Andrews AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo)

• The Bush administration has agreed to provide House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with regular access to an Air Force passenger jet, but the two sides are negotiating whether she will get the big aircraft she wants and who she may take as passengers, according to congressional and administration sources, reports The Washington Times.
  
  A congressional source said that Rep. John P. Murtha, chairman of House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, which controls the Pentagon's spending, has telephoned administration officials to urge them to give the speaker what she wants.
  
  Mrs. Pelosi wants a larger aircraft that can fly to her home district of San Francisco nonstop. She also wants to be able to ferry other members of the congressional delegation, family members and her staff.
  
  

  "She's effectively taking a bird out of the fleet," said a defense source. "It will most directly impact the House, because they're the heavy users of the large aircraft. Congress looks at that Andrews fleet as their Hertz rent-a-car."

  The congressional source said the speaker's office requested an Air Force plane to take her to a weekend Democratic retreat in Williamsburg, but the Pentagon declined.
  
  

  The defense source, who asked not to be named, termed her request "carte blanche," saying she wanted a plane that could carry an entourage just like President Bush, who flies on Air Force One, and Vice President Dick Cheney, who also always flies on military planes.

• The Washington Times reports the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing the Bush administration for routine access to military aircraft for domestic flights, such as trips back to her San Francisco district, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
  
  The sources, who include those in Congress and in the administration, said the Democrat is seeking regular military flights not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation. A knowledgeable source called the request "carte blanche for an aircraft any time."
  
  

  "They are pressing the point of her succession and that the [Department of Defense] needs to play ball with the speaker's needs," one source said. The request originally went to the Pentagon, which then asked the White House to weigh in.

Keep in mind that Nancy Pelosi represents a district that includes San Fransisco, a city that recently decided to remove ROTC from school campuses because of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay service members.

Thanks to Joe Paine for the Times-Picayune cartoon.

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