Barack Obama's dinner for PM Manmohan Singh most expensive since 2009: Report

[vicky sen]

The Obama administration spent $572,187.36 for the State Dinner for PM Manmohan Singh at the White House on November 24, 2009.(TOI Photo)

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has spent a whopping $1.55 million on five of his state dinner since 2009, with the most expensive of them being the first one hosted in honour of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Records from the State Department Office of Protocol, whose budget covers state dinners, show they can cost taxpayers in excess of half a million dollars per event.

In response to a Freedom of Information request to which it took the state department 13 months to respond, CBS News has obtained the Office of Protocol's expense calculations for the first five state dinners of the Obama presidency.

The Obama administration spent $572,187.36 for the State Dinner for PM Manmohan Singh at the White House on November 24, 2009.

Obama hosted Mexican President Felipe Calderon on May 19, 2010 at a cost of $563,479.92.

He held his third State Dinner on January 19, 2011 for Chinese President Hu Jintao at a cost of $412,329.73.

Obama held the fourth State Dinner on June 7, 2011 for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the cost was $215,883.36.

The fifth State Dinner was held on October 13, 2011 for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at a cost of $203,053.34, the CBS report said.

It said the State Department has not yet responded to another Freedom of Information request filed seven months ago for its rundown of the expenses for the sixth State Dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron on March 14, 2012.

Obama hosted French President Francois Hollande during his seventh State Dinner last night.

The US Congress has been waiting for similar information from the State Department even longer, it said.

In a letter to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dated November 1, 2012, Darrell Issa, a Republican lawmaker from California, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, had expressed concern about the costs of state dinners and asked for an accounting.

"Please provide," wrote Issa, "an itemised list of costs and expenses for each of the last six state dinners, including, but not limited to, amounts paid, including reimbursements, for non-government event planners, entertainers and chefs."

Issa gave Clinton two weeks, until November 15, 2012, to respond to his request. The CBS, quoting a staffer says the Committee never received a response from Clinton or the State Department, the report said.

Barack Obama's dinner for PM Manmohan Singh most expensive since 2009: Report - The Times of India

 

[Dubious]

$572,187.36

Anyone seen what they offered for that much?? What was on the menu?

 

[vicky sen]

Anyone seen what they offered for that much?? What was on the menu?

FIRST: Potato and eggplant salad;
White House arugula with onion seed vinaigrette

SECOND: Red lentil soup with fresh cheese;
roast potato dumplings with tomato chutney

MAIN: Chickpeas and okra or green curry prawns with caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut-aged basmati

DESSERT: Pumpkin pie tart; Pear tatin;
Whipped cream and caramel sauce

 

[BATMAN]

 

[ranjeet]

10 saal mein India mein itna khaa gaya .... thoda bahut chuna to america bahadur ko bhi lagana chahiye !!!

 

[Dubious]

FIRST: Potato and eggplant salad;
White House arugula with onion seed vinaigrette

SECOND: Red lentil soup with fresh cheese;
roast potato dumplings with tomato chutney

MAIN: Chickpeas and okra or green curry prawns with caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut-aged basmati

DESSERT: Pumpkin pie tart; Pear tatin;
Whipped cream and caramel sauce

How is any of that even summing up to half a million?

 

[vicky sen]

How is any of that even summing up to half a million?

Not only the food of course. Overall cost.

 

[Hermione]

Actually that is the kind of money spent in India too.

"The country has been informed—thanks to an RTI query by Hissar-based Ramesh Verma—that the government spent Rs 28.95 lakh on the third anniversary celebrations of UPA II.

In a country where anyone earning Rs 22 per day (in rural India) is ineligible to be poor, the government spent Rs 7,721 per person on a dinner. By its own calculation that amount would have paid for a family’s annual consumption of cooking gas. The Prime Minister also said that the UPA has “been voted to office twice to protect the interests of the aam aadmi” but that didn’t stop the splurging of Rs 14 lakh on just the tent for the event."

 

[SinaG]

Such a waste of taxpayer's money.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

spent that much on one dinner (unconscionable) but imprisoned and humiliated a high ranking diplomat and still deny visa to his possible successor

 

[Hermione]

Not only the govt, it also funds high society parties by the folks at Tehelka. Goa govt paid Rs. 50 lakhs for their weekend ThinkFest.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

How is any of that even summing up to half a million?

when you have liberals (democraps, libtards, etc.) in power in america anything is possible

it took 630 million dollars to set up 6 people for that absurd "obama care" in its initial stages

 

[Dubious]

Not only the food of course. Overall cost.

Oic...

 

[Hermione]

Oh it is the same for setting up of Nalanda University here in India. No buildings or classrooms yet, but crores have been already spent on Mr. Amartya Sen and his mentor group.

"An RTI query shows that nearly Rs 25 lakh have been spent by the MEA on Sen’s flying visits to India between October 2010 and October 2012, The MEA has coughed up several crores to keep the mentor group going since 2007."

Essence of arbitrariness in every decision -The New Indian Express

 

[+4vsgorillas-Apebane]

They would earn more respect if the two of them just went out together to grab a burger.