President Barack Obama will make a fundraising trip to Miami on Wednesday at the expense of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
As the Miami Herald notes, federal taxpayers pay about $180,000 per flight hour for Obama to take Air Force One, while local taxpayers are forced to pay for much of the costs dealing with security.
Miami police spokesman Robert Hernandez told the Herald that they are “NOT reimbursed for this expenditure” and “estimated the cost of presidential visit security at $10,000 to $55,000.”
According to the Miami-Dade Police Department, Obama’s Oct. 11, 2012 visit cost county taxpayers about $28,978.18. The Herald also reports the “Florida Highway Patrol chipped in $6,490 and City of Miami Police another $5,727” for Obama’s 2012 visit.
Though a Secret Service spokesman said he could not comment on the cost of the trip due to “operational security reasons,” the spokesman acknowledged the “the Secret Service does not pay for police overtime associated with protective visits.” He explained that “the federal agency is not funded to pay police overtime and does not have a mechanism to do so.” That is why local taxpayers, as they have in Obama’s other visits, usually are forced to pick up the tab.
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