One day after the Herald/Times received travel records from the state, U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio's campaign is admitting that he double-billed the Republican Party of Florida and state taxpayers for eight flights while he was House Speaker.
"Earlier this week in response to a question from the media I stated that all my legislative travel during my tenure as Speaker was paid for by the Republican Party of Florida. However after reviewing hundreds of flights we identified 8 official state business flights which the state properly paid for. These flights total approximately $3,000. Further, it appears several of these flights were also billed to the RPOF.
"Billing the Party was a mistake which needs to be fixed. So, out of an abundance of caution I am personally reimbursing the Party for the cost of all 8 flights. Background information: All 8 trips were within Florida. Seven were between Tallahassee and Miami, and one was from Ft. Lauderdale to Tallahassee then to Miami. The Speaker of the House, like the Governor, is eligible for complete reimbursement for all travel related to his official state duties."
Said the campaign: "Of the hundreds of flights taken by Rubio, we could find only eight flights between 2006 2008 which were paid for the state. Therefore Rubio's policy of having the Party pay for his travel may have saved taxpayers as much as $32,000 in travel costs."
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