Congressional Push to Drop Charges Against Three Navy SEALs

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Seal of Approval

A second letter of support from members of Congress has been sent on behalf of three Navy SEALs charged with mistreating an Iraqi detainee. The latest letter written by Indiana's Dan Burton and signed by 40 of his Republican colleagues asks a Special Operations commander to drop all charges against the men.

Burton says in a separate statement: "This sends a backwards message to our men and women in the military who are charged with carrying out dangerous missions and must often use aggressive force in dealing with Al Qaeda and the Taliban."

Two of the Navy SEALs were arraigned last week. Their separate trials are scheduled for early next month. The Iraqi prisoner is suspected of involvement in the killings of four American contractors in 2004.

Charge It!

Records show that despite tough economic times, members of Congress are having no problem picking up the tab for expensive dinners and events and passing the bill on to taxpayers.

The Washington Times reports Guam Democratic Delegate Madeleine Bordallo racked up the largest expenditure by a House member on food and beverages during the third quarter. Bordallo spent $6,000 for a single event. Her office says the costs covered a guest list of 300 people.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had the second most expensive meal, spending $5,300 for 200 people to eat chicken cordon bleu dinners. The Maryland Democrat's office says it was for a women's networking fair.

Travel costs were pricey for Alaska Republican Don Young. The congressman asked for over $62,000 in travel reimbursements between July and September.

Washington Republican Doc Hastings spent almost $19,000 on furniture.

Carbonhagen

And the U.N. climate summit will generate more carbon emissions than any previous climate conference.

Despite efforts to reduce the summit's carbon footprint, the Danish government says around 5,700 tons of carbon dioxide will be created by the two-week summit.

Then add 40,500 tons for flights to and from Copenhagen. That's equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide produced each year by 2,300 Americans or 660,000 Ethiopians.

— Fox News Channel's Britt Lanna contributed to this report.