Senator Lugar to pay back taxpayer money used for hotels

Senator Richard Lugar, R-Indianapolis, owes Hoosiers some money. He said he will repay taxpayers for a series of hotel stays in Indiana over the years.

A review of his records found that since 1991, the senator has been charging Hoosiers for his hotel stays even when he wasn't in session. The Republican said because of staff errors, taxpayers money was improperly used to pay for about $4,500 in hotel expenses over the past decade.

The reimbursements are the result of questions raised by Politico, which asked about an obscure set of Senate guidleines requiring senators to certify their usual place of residence in their home state during adjournments.

During these periods, a senator is not allowed to use official funds to cover hotel costs in that home area. Now, Lugar is taking steps to repay that money, dating to hotel stays as far back as 1991.

Andy Fisher, a spokesperson for Sen. Lugar said when their staff reviewed their records, they determined that there were some "bookkeeping errors" and that staff had "filed the paperwork wrong."

When it was brought to the attention of Sen. Lugar, Fisher said, Lugar was "concerned and wanted it rectified as soon as possible."

"Lugar has always been very frugal, returning more than $5.4 million in unspent office funds throughout the year," Fisher said.

"The constant hammering of the residency issue is destructive politics and we should instead be focusing on what is important to the voter."

Lugar is in the process of consulting with the Senate's Disbursement Office to determine whether the reimbursements should be paid for out of pocket or out of his election fund.