Alasks Gov. Sarah Palin (R), the Republican vice presidential candidate, billed state taxpayers over $60,000 for living at home and on travel for her husband and their children, The Washington Post reports.

Palin collected a "per diem" even for the nights she spent at the family's home in Wasilla, about 600 miles from the state capital of Juneau, the paper said. The state also paid for her husband, Todd, and their daughters to travel back and forth from Wasilla and Juneau.

The governor's office is exempt from state regulations regarding travel but former Gov. Tony Knowles (D), who remains popular with Alaska Natives, said his administration barred officials from collecting a per diem for nights spent at home. "I gave a direction to all my commissioners if they were ever in their house, whether it was Juneau or elsewhere, they were not to get a per diem because, clearly, it is and it looks like a scam -- you pay yourself to live at home," he told the paper.

Knowles said his children rarely traveled with him on official business. Palin frequently takes her children to work and to events though she has declined to collect a per diem for their expenses.

Get the Story:
Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home (The Washington Post 9/9)
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