Climate activist Senate Democrats drop thousands on swanky private jet travel: 'Hypocrisy'

A top Democratic committee backing green energy policies purportedly to combat climate change shelled out tens of thousands of dollars on gas-guzzling private jet travel, according to campaign finance disclosures.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which counts Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) as its chairman and works to elect Senate Democrats, has repeatedly touted how liberal lawmakers are working "to combat climate change," which the group has dubbed a "crisis." These sentiments didn't stop the committee from spending over $59,000 in June with the Virginia-based Advanced Aviation, a charter aircraft company often hired by lawmakers and campaigns, according to Federal Election Commission filings reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

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The private jet payments appear to run contrary to the DSCC's efforts to push expansive climate plans that experts say significantly harm the fossil fuels industry, which is said to represent about 80% of the world's energy supply. Private jets are five to 14 times more polluting and, on average, 10 times more "carbon-intensive" than commercial flights, while also being 50 times more polluting than trains, according to Transport & Environment, a European energy group.

"They don't practice what they preach," Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, an environmental and energy advocacy group, told the Washington Examiner. "It's hypocrisy. It's rules for thee, but not for me. It's all talk and no action with these folks."

Advanced Aviation offers a handful of private jet options, ranging from an ultra-long-range jet that can fit up to 18 passengers and fly for up to 16 hours and a turboprop that seats up to eight passengers, according to its website. It also allows passengers to bring pets in the air and depicts an example on its website of two travelers drinking wine in front of a charcuterie board with fine cheeses and fruits.

The company received two payments totaling roughly $29,000 each from the DSCC on June 13, which followed the $15,000 combined it made to Advanced Aviation on March 30, disclosures show. Moreover, the DSCC steered almost $224,000 to Advanced Aviation between August 2021 and October 2022.

The payments, like others, were earmarked under "travel expenses."

It's unclear what the private jet travel was specifically for and where the committee was headed. The DSCC did not return a Washington Examiner request for comment.

The committee notably tapped Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in 2021 to lead its Blue Green Council, which organizes the DSCC's "engagement with the cleantech and clean energy sectors," according to a press release. As a whole, the DSCC helped advocate President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, a major spending bill that allocated billions of dollars to the green energy industry and climate change initiatives.

"On #EarthDay and every day, Democrats are fighting to combat climate change and protect our planet for generations to come," the DSCC said in April.

On #EarthDay and every day, Democrats are fighting to combat climate change and protect our planet for generations to come. pic.twitter.com/naV2STW1RM

Meanwhile, Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), whom the DSCC announced as a vice chairwoman in January, is also a member of the Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, which is led by Senate Democrats. The committee alleged that the "climate crisis threatens our lives and livelihoods" in a 263-page August 2020 report, which boosted a "shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy" and called for yanking certain "subsidies" from oil and gas companies.

"Aviation, freight, and shipping are additional areas for further innovation," the committee wrote in the report. "Promising propulsion for planes includes renewable drop-in fuels, hydrogen fuel cells, and battery electric engines. Biofuels can be made from industrial process waste gases, reusing carbon."

News of the DSCC's recent travel payments come after a May Washington Examiner report detailed how Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has spent almost $700,000 in campaign funds since late 2020 on private jet travel. The former House speaker has backed phasing out fossil fuels and, for instance, tweeted in April of last year, "Oil and gas execs are hoarding their bonuses and profits on the backs of working people who have to drive to earn a living despite the price at the pump."

"Their greed is making our case to fight corporate monopolies, diversify our energy sources, and transition from fossil fuels," said Pelosi, who in 2018 reestablished the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

Democrats have increasingly gotten into hot water over spending big on jet travel while advocating climate policies. During the 2022 midterm elections, top Democratic campaigns and liberal political action committees paid at least $1.4 million to charter private jets, records show.

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Beyond Congress, one top Biden administration official has also faced scrutiny for private jet travel.

Biden climate envoy John Kerry was grilled by House Republicans in a July hearing since a Gulfstream GIV-SP jet owned by his family took 48 trips for over 60 hours, Fox News reported. The trips emitted an estimated 325 metric tons, or 715,886 pounds, of carbon during the first 18 months of the administration, according to the outlet.