President Biden and Vice President Harris both visited Seattle recently to raise money for their campaigns, and I believe we are all owed a service fee for the collective inconvenience.<\/p>\n
President Biden made a 24-hour stopover in Seattle in early May. There was no presidential reason, strictly a campaign stop to pull money out of the ATM Washington state has become for his campaign.<\/p>\n
The race this year is not competitive. Washington will go for Biden. The last time this state went for a Republican for president was Ronald Reagan in 1984.<\/p>\n
More on President Biden<\/strong>: Biden rolls out border asylum restrictions; Washington officials react<\/a><\/p>\n Last Saturday, three weeks after Biden’s visit, Vice President Harris made a trip to the Washington State ATM.<\/p>\n Well, now I want my ATM service fee. Call it an inconvenience fee.<\/p>\n If a president or a vice president came for an official visit — to sign a treaty with China, to provide federal assistance for a region torn apart by an earthquake — I\u2019m OK with that. I’ll waive the service fee.<\/p>\n But if they are coming strictly to raise campaign money, with their motorcade blocking traffic for hours during rush hour, delaying dozens of flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and surrounding airports just to make room for Air Force One or its sequel, I need my inconvenience fee.<\/p>\n As a taxpayer, I’m paying the overtime needed for all the local law enforcement needed for the motorcades to private events surrounding their hotels.<\/p>\n The federal government accounting office keeps track of the costs of federal assets — like Air Force One — for strictly campaign visits. Campaigns are required to set up an escrow account to pay the cost of using federal assets for campaign purposes.<\/p>\n According to an Associated Press report<\/a>, since Biden officially began his re-election bid in January 2023 to the end of March this year — a 15-month period — $6.5 million has been put into that escrow account despite the government only have been reimbursed $300,000.<\/p>\n The reimbursement cost of just Air Force One, according to the Government Accountability Office, is approximately $200,000 an hour.<\/p>\n More from Matt Markovich<\/strong>: What do President Joe Biden and Sammy Sosa have in common?<\/a><\/p>\n I’m not a math wizard, but it seems to me the Biden-Harris campaign owes the government a lot more than $300,000. If presidential re-election campaigns had to pay the true reimbursement costs of a fundraising stop, they would never leave Washington D.C.<\/p>\n For the record, I would only charge a $3.99 service fee for their ATM visit. I’m sending my reimbursement form to the White House today.<\/p>\n Matt Markovich often covers the state legislature and public policy for KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Matt\u2019s stories\u00a0here<\/a>. Follow him on\u00a0X<\/a>, or\u00a0email him here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nOur region deserves an inconvenience fee<\/h2>\n