How important was Congressman C.W. “Bill” Young?
It turns out, in death, he is more important than Pope Francis.
The office of House Speaker John Boehner is arranging for a flight Thursday from Andrews Air Force Base to Florida to attend Young’s funeral, with the aircraft scheduled to return Thursday evening, according to House aides and Ed O’Keefe of the Washington Post. “The decision comes even though Boehner earlier this year put in place rules requiring House lawmakers to seek permission from Boehner to use military aircraft on overseas trips, including trips to visit U.S. military service members in Iraq and Afghanistan, because of automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration.”
Boehner’s waiving of the rules for Young’s funeral is counter to the situation for the installation mass for Pope Francis. Then lawmakers were required to fly on a commercial aircraft to Rome.
So why does YOung’s funeral rank higher than the mass for Pope Francis?
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told O’Keefe in an e-mail that “Given Rep. Young’s long and distinguished service to his Congressional district, and especially to the men and women of our Armed Forces, the rule against military aircraft is waived for his funeral.”
