Military Aircraft: Travel on 89th Military Airlift Wing and Travel by Selected Officials

GAO discussed: (1) the policies regarding government officials' use of 89th Military Airlift Wing aircraft; and (2) selected executive branch officials' travel on military aircraft. GAO noted that: (1) policies regarding military aircraft usage had limited impact on government officials' use of 89th Wing aircraft, since the policies were broad, vague and subject to varying interpretations; (2) the policies did not effectively guide, restrict, or limit officials' use of 89th Wing aircraft, which was free of charge to all but a few users, since there was no independent verification of policy compliance; (3) a review of 11 Executive Branch officials' travel showed that they took 222 trips on military aircraft between January 1989 and March 1991; (4) 10 of the officials generally followed travel policies requiring travel authorizations, justifications for military aircraft usage, and political and personal travel reimbursements; and (5) between 1989 and 1991, solely political and personal trips on military aircraft cost approximately $774,330, and reimbursements for such travel, which were made or billed in accordance with White House policy, totalled $61,585.