Rep. Schock Billed Taxpayers $7K for One-Way Plane Ticket

On the same day Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock announced his resignation from Congress, NBC5 Investigates found information on a curious plane ticket, which he charged to taxpayers during a trip to Japan, South Korea, and China as part of a 47-member congressional delegation last April.

An expense report for the trip, submitted to the Congressional Record last summer, shows that Schock and one other member of the delegation flew commercial from China to the U.S. rather than on military transport, which is customary for these trips.  Schock’s one-way ticket cost taxpayers $7,419.40.

The other member’s one-way ticket cost $1,292.50. 

It's not clear why either member took commercial flights during the trip, while the 45 other members' travel was not listed as a cost on the official foreign travel document. 

Currently, a one-way coach ticket from Beijing to O’Hare costs about $1,100 and a business class ticket costs about $4,500. A first-class seat costs roughly $8,000.

Schock's office has not returned NBC5 Investigates' numerous requests for comment.

A spokesman for the House Ethics Committee said the committee does not oversee these kinds of expenses and could not offer comment.

NBC 5 Investigates also reached out to the Office of Interparliamentary Affairs, the Committee on House Administration, the House Majority Leader, which submitted the accounting to the Congressional Record, but none of the offices responded to those requests for comment.  

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