Martin Hoke: “The fact is we have got a problem at the Department of Energy with travel, and it is not just a small problem, because…”

“The fact is we have got a problem at the Department of Energy with travel, and it is not just a small problem, because what it does do is it takes money away from the accounts that safeguard our nuclear energy program, and it is spending it in a way that is very difficult, to say the least, to understand by Members of Congress who are charged with oversight of the Department of Energy. I will give you one other example of this, because I think it is instructive, because I think it is important that our colleagues know that there is a real problem. It is a genuine problem, and it is a problem that we want the Department of Energy and the Secretary of that department to take seriously and to get under control and to do it now. As you know, government officials are permitted to claim up to 100 percent of the maximum per diem in special or unusual circumstances. However, Secretary O'Leary has sought reimbursement for expenses in excess of the maximum per diem on 61 of the 71 occasions when she stayed at a hotel in the United States. She appears to believe that the special or unusual circumstances are the rule when she travels. Now, she has transferred $400,000 from other program accounts to finance this travel. She has just returned from a trip to Paris, Florence, and Baku. She is currently in Russia for the 8th time, and she is soon going to be off to South Africa. It is enough. Enough is enough, Mr.…”