Congress: Flying Down to Sao Paulo

Flying Down to Sao Paulo

As a former member of the National Alcohol Fuels Commission, Democratic Congressman Bill Alexander of Arkansas wanted to take advantage of the August recess to inspect Brazil's production of ethanol. It is an unwritten House rule that Congressmen can request the services of a Pentagon plane only if three or four of them travel together. So Alexander invited four of his colleagues to join him on his six-day sojourn. He sent their names to Speaker Tip O'Neill, who asked the Pentagon to secure a jet for the group. But when the Air Force C-9 took off for Sao Paulo, Alexander, 51,...

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