Sunny Christmas: First Family and Dog Bo to Leave Cold DC for $4 Million Hawaiian Vacation

By
Malia Zimmerman
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BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN – KAILUA, Hawaii – The now familiar signs that President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia and First Dog Bo will be arriving in Hawaii for Christmas are appearing in the close knit beachside community on Oahu’s windward side.

Coast Guard officials have contacted boat owners in the area to remind them the canal and popular surf spot fronting the private beachfront homes where the President will vacation beginning Friday are off limits for 17 days. The Coast Guard also has released information on the temporary security zone that will be enforced from  6 a.m. on Friday to 10 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2014.

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Black SUVs and government issued vans are parked along the street fronting homes now occupied by the U.S. Secret Service, Navy SEALs and Coast Guard.

By the time the President arrives, concrete blockades and security will bar direct entrance to Kailuana Place where the President stays. Coast Guard on armed boats will patrol the canal and ocean. All airlines will be barred from flying over the island.

The First Family has spent every Christmas since the President was first elected in 2008 in Kailua, a community built around stunning white sands and turquoise seas of Kailua beach that boasts fiery sunrises over the Mokulua Islands.

The First Family is a two-minute drive from Kaneohe Bay and the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, where they can access private beaches, a military gym and bowling alley, and five minutes from a variety of restaurants, stores and water sports rental shops in quaint Kailua town.

Obama is popular in Hawaii, however, there are people critical of the cost to taxpayers and the inconvenience the President’s presence causes.

Sunrise over Kailua’s Mokulua Islands

The President and his friends pay for the private home accommodations that rent for $25,000 per week, however taxpayers – both federal and county – pick up the majority of the bill for the rest of the trip.

Michael Tasselmyer of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, estimates the 18-hour roundtrip aboard Air Force One, which he said costs $179,750 per hour for flight and operation, will total $3,235,500 for the roundtrip. A Congressional Research Service report released in May 2012 matches that figure.

There are reports the President might also stop on the island of Maui, a 30-minute flight from Oahu, which would add additional expense.

The cost for USAF C-17 cargo aircraft that transports the Presidential limos, helicopters and other support equipment to Hawaii has never been disclosed, but the roundtrip flight time between Andrews Air Force Base and Hawaii is 21.5 hours, with estimated operating cost of $12,000 per hour. (Source: GAO report, updated by C-17 crew member).

The U.S. Marine Corps provides a presidential helicopter, along with pilots and support crews for the test flights, which travel on another C-17 flight. That is $258,000, not including costs for the 4-to-6-member crew’s per diem and hotel.

U.S. Secret Service, Navy Seals and Coast Guard rent homes along the canal and ocean for $250 per room per night, according to residents renting their homes. Real estate source said the delegation rents at least 7 homes in the area, and arrive ahead of the President, costing taxpayers more than $183,750 for the length of the visit.

Moana Surfrider

White House staff who do not stay in Kailua secure hotel rooms at the posh Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa on Waikiki Beach. Hotel rooms typically rent for $670 a night, but the hotel offers discounted government rates for about $255 per night, according to hotel public relations manager Diana Su. The hotel does not disclose information about The White House visit. However, estimating prices for room, as well as Transient Accommodation Tax and General Excise Tax, for about two dozen staff, totals more than $100,000.

The President is accompanied by 22 vehicles, whether he goes golfing and to a basketball game with friends at his Punahou alma mater or to body surf at Sandy Beach and local favorite restaurants such as Nobu’s and Buzz’s Steakhouse.

Honolulu Police are on special duty, paid $250,000 by city taxpayers, and another $10,000 is spent on around-the-clock ambulance detail.

There are several costs the White House annually refuses to release, citing security.

  • For example, The White House rents an entire floor of an office building in Kailua on the canal during the President’s stay
  • Security upgrades, such as bulletproof glass, and additional phone lines, are added to private homes, while existing security systems are disabled.
  • Rental cars and fuel for staff and security, as well as additional travel costs Secret Service and White House staff traveling ahead of the President, are kept secret.

The White House has not released expenses, citing security concerns.  However, the most conservative estimate, based on what is known, for a 17-day vacation in Hawaii for the President and his family and staff and security is more than $4 million.

View of Waimanalo and Kailua, where the President stays, from Makapu’u Light House

Last year, because of emergency budget negotiations, the President made two roundtrips from Washington, D.C. to Hawaii, nearly doubling the cost of the vacation to more than $7.2 million.

Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Secret Service on May 6 to “obtain records concerning use of U.S. Government funds to provide security and any other services to President Obama and any companions on their January 1 and 2, 2013, trip to Honolulu, Hawaii.”

Judicial Watch Spokeswoman Jill Farrell said this week there has been no additional action on the case, Judicial Watch v. U.S. Secret Service.

The lawsuit was filed after the Secret Service did not provide information to Judicial Watch in response to a January 2, 2013, FOIA request.

“As of May 6, the Secret Service had yet to produce any record,” Judicial Watch said in a May 2013 statement.

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280 COMMENTS

  1. When he gets back from Hawaii, he's going to talk to us about Inequality in America. Wait for it.

  2. No Republican Presidents EVER TOOK vacations.HMM . Funny how they are quick here to take shots at the BLACK ONE.

    • Because they went home — to the houses they OWNED. Barry and family should be going to Chicago for Christmas, not a $10 million taxpayer funded one. And yes, 10 M is closer to the cost.

    • W went home to Texas and he waited until after Christmas so his staff and the secret service, etc. could spend Christmas with their families – big difference.

    • Republican presidents went to their homes for vacations the Obama's lile the Klinton's never owned ANYTHING !

    • Both Reagan and Bush 2 spent most of their vacations on their ranches which cost the tax payers a heck of a lot less money than obama's elaborate vacations. For you to not mention that means you are either uninformed or purposely ignoring the facts so you can race-bait… Btw even though obama doesn't like to admit it, he is still half white…

    • So the complexion of his skin condones his lack of character? You condone his excesses by saying other have been excessive. I guess you were taught two wrongs make a right and that if your freind jumps off a bridge you do the same. He is sadly a lying, narcissistic, self absorbed, incompetent, did I say liar. His 1/2 complexion has as much to do with his lack of character and competency, as did a you tube video with the terrorist murders in Benghazi!

    • Yes you f*ing idiot. This is not a black white issue. Let me guess. You drive an Escalade and live on entitlements?

    • Jim crow pulling out the old race card again? you need new material. he was voted IN because he is black, you are a racist if you voted for him because of the color of his skin. THAT is the definition of racist

    • Funny how quick you are to play the trite race card. We are way past race with this half-white leftist failure; for the overwhelming majority of Americans, color isn't even on the radar. After all, he was elected twice in our predominately white country, wasn't he? Join us in the 21st century, won't you?

    • LOVE THE NAME . YOU MUST BE A DEMOCRAT .

      TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM , YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THE COST OF THE VACATIONS .
      THAT MEANS THE MONEY SPENT ON THEM IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING .

    • MMMMMmmmmm, All this A$$clown does is take expensive vacations on our dime and then campaign and fundraise to fill the corrupt Liberal/Progressive coffers! But hey you A$$ wipes get oBUMacare out of the deal so enjoy! Just be sure to not get sick Moron!

    • No one said ANYTHING about color BUT YOU. GET OFF YOUR racist horse. Check the records and you will find Bush,Reagan, Bush went to their homes.

    • They never took separate planes at 180,000 an hour, they didn't fly their dog in separately in Marine 1, so anyone complaining about Obama's vacations definitely have legitimate reasons.

    • Checked the site-That is old news- were you aware -although dated 12/17/13. Kizzie was in a sun dress. Baby in a sun suit– It is way below freezing in DC. Chickern George had his sleeves rolled up. I guess I'm confused. Oh Well. The whole country is confused.

    • There are numerous jets that transport not only his massive security and staff, but also his vehicles. His entourage also costs us to travel, feed and house.

    • I am sure they don't tell us the real cost. The government lies everyday to us. Even if they did mention true costs, you would never hear it from BO's media pals. I remember when the press gave Nancy Reagan hell for new dishes and designer clothes. He gets a pass on multiplication dollar vacations. The media has been one sided for many years. We really can't call them reporters, they are revisionists.

  6. WHAT has Obummer done to deserve a vacation? If he worked his butt off for the US and brought about tranquility, employment and a decent health plan, it would be one thing, he hasn't done any of these. He needs a vacation to remember all his lies so when he gets back he has a clear head to start all over again. The sooner Congress gets their act in gear, the sooner we can get Obama out of here…He should be put into a prison for treason. COME ON CONGRESS do your job, you haven't done anything for We the People, concentrate on this NOW! Don't worry about your winter break just, "Do your job right, or don't do your job at all."

    • Remember when America did things? Achieved things? Had a happy, motivated population?

      Then back came the democRats, led by an ignorant, arrogant fool who then fooled enough suckers into supporting his scams. Now, Odumbass, Stretch Pelosi and the rest of the democRats are trying to make the suckers believe we can be prosperous and have a thriving economy again if only we wasted a few hundred billion more borrowed dollars on unemployment welfare for the 'Rat parasites. And maybe a few dozen more Solyndras.

      FU BO, you POS.

  7. We all might be better off if Barry went to Hawaii and stayed there. Better yet, let's help him get elecred as the President of South Africa.

  9. I despise this president as much as anyone. He's incompetent, arrogant and dishonest. However, I'd rather attack his policies than trivialities such as his vacation plans. If he and his family flew a commercial airline, they would be endangering everyone else on that flight. Same goes for any lodging or restaurant or activity they engage in. If not for a cadre of protection personnel, everyone around him would be a potential collateral victim. Should he just stay home this Christmas? Probably, but if the first family is going on vacation, I don't mind my tax dollars being used to protect innocent bystanders.

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