Costs soar for Clinton's New York office space

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former President Clinton's Manhattan office space will cost about $800,000 a year, considerably higher than the figure reported to Congress last week, according to Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., who has looked into the government's lease of the suite.

Istook, who said he had been told the space would cost about $600,000 per year, said Congress may not appropriate the funds over the life of the six-year lease unless Clinton seeks out cheaper space.

In response to the uproar over the high-priced real estate, Clinton had offered to have his private foundation cover $300,000 of the annual lease but Istook says that's not good enough.

"It makes thing even worse and makes the offer from the foundation to pick up some of the costs unsatisfactory," he said Wednesday.

Istook said he wants Clinton to sign a contract shielding the taxpayers from the exposure of an expensive lease. He also said he'd turn his anger toward the General Services Administration if the agency was "irresponsible" enough to sign the lease.

"What's worse than paying $600,000 for one year?" he asked rhetorically in a phone interview with CNN. "Paying $800,000 for six years."

"This is exorbitant spending with other people's money," Istook said.

The office space, located in the Carnegie Hall Tower, measures 8,300 square feet.

See related sites about Politics

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.