Reality Check: Are Congressman's High-Flying Expenses Reasonable?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Minnesota's 7th Congressional District, on the western edge of the state, is the unexpected focus of millions of dollars in political attack ads.
Several of those ads target Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, a 23-year incumbent, for his travel expenses, including a private airplane.
The rhetoric in the ads is overheated, but the claims they make are essentially accurate.
"First it was the cars, then the plane," says one ad. "Peterson said it would be cheaper to drive, but it's much quicker to fly."
It's all true.
Peterson uses two leased cars and an airplane to get around his district.
It's all official travel, and it's all approved by the House. Peterson's expenses are spread over his more than 20 years in office.
None of it makes his expense reports any less eye-popping, but there're a couple factoids this ad leaves out:
Minnesota's 7th Congressional District is 38,000 square miles--by far, the largest in Minnesota.
It's bigger than 12 states and the District of Columbia, and it takes more than seven hours to drive from the south end of the district to the north.
Peterson's a private pilot who flies his plane to meetings because he says it saves time.
"Two leased cars?" asks a second ad. "I knew he had a private plane, but I didn't know it cost that much."
The Republican ad against Peterson is effective, and it's been tried before.
Two years ago, Democrats used an ad going after Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack for his car lease.
Cravaack lost his re-election bid in 2012 to Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan.
And Peterson's 7th District race against Republican Torrey Westrom is said to be unexpectedly close.
Here are some of the sources we used in this Reality Check:
National Republican Campaign Committee's ads against Collin Peterson
Official Report of Expense Payments to Members of Congress, 2013
Collin Peterson's Official Website
Congressional Salaries and Allowances
Overview of Congressional Travel
House Majority PAC TV ad against MN-8 Congressman Chip Cravaack, 2012
