Obama Takes Heat for $100M Africa Trip...From Fellow Dem

Rep. John Barrow on Thursday criticized fellow Democrat President Barack Obama for his upcoming high-cost trip to Africa in the middle of budget cuts.

The cost estimate for the weeklong visit to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania is between $60 million to $100 million, according to a Washington Post analysis. Barrow, speaking on the House floor, questioned Obama for taking such an expensive trip when thousands of people in his home state of Georgia will soon be furloughed because of the sequester.

"No one here questions the need for security for our commander in chief," Barrow said. "But we do question the need for such expensive trips when so many folks across the country are being forced to cut back because Congress can’t get its act together."

He continued, "A trip of this magnitude isn’t unusual, but these are hard times. One hundred million dollars could be better used to keep folks on the job. I urge the president, and everyone at the federal level, to lead by example, and not take the fact that Congress can't get its act together and rub that in the faces of hard-working Americans."

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