by The number of luxurious limos, a sign of wealth and power, have grown by an unprecedented 73% during the first two years of the Obama administration, according to iWatch News‘ take on the records.
State Department Gets Most of the Limos
The majority of the new limos were added to the State Department under the leadership of Hillary Rodham Clinton.Officials of the Obama government explained that the majority of the increase is a result of the upgrading of safety measures, since limos are considered more secure in the increasingly dangerous world in which government workers are forced to live in.
Limos Embarrassing During Time of Fiscal Crisis
But groups overseeing the behavior of government officials counter that too many limos send the wrong message to the people when the entire country, and especially the US government, is reeling from a budget crisis. Interestingly the abundance of limos was uncovered as a result of an executive order from President Obama himself to press government agencies to improve the fuel efficiency of their fleets.
President Bush Also Responsible
The General Services Administration supplied the data which points to the huge increase in governmental limos. The last year of the Bush administration, 2008, there were 238 limos in service in the federal fleet. The number increased to 412 in 2010. Most of that increase, 111 out of the total of 174 added limos, occurred in the fiscal year 2009, at least eight months of which coincided with Obama’s first year as president. Obama cannot be blamed for the entire increase, however, since it is highly likely that at least some of those acquisitions were requested by the Bush Administration during a process of appropriations that began during the spring of 2008.
