Rep. King Wants to Know Whether 'Per Diem' Used to Pay Colombia Prostitutes

A top House Republican wants to know whether Secret Service employees involved in the prostitution scandal in Colombia used their taxpayer "per diem" to pay any of the women for their services.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., posed the question along with dozens of others in a letter to Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan as part of his committee's escalating probe into the controversy. The questions covered everything from the potential security risks to internal training procedures.

On the issue of prostitute payment, King asked the director two questions -- how many agents paid the women, and how many "provided monetary remuneration to the female foreign nationals involved in the alleged incident in Colombia with the per diem provided by the U.S. government?"

It's unclear how much money the agents may have shelled out on the night in question, or whether any of that money came from the government pocketbook -- one of the women reportedly was paid $225 for the night. It's one of the many questions lawmakers have for the Obama administration as they launch their own investigations into the alleged misconduct.

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