According to its website, judges and staffers from the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will be holding their annual judicial conference in Maui this August, an event that could cost in excess of half a million dollars for accommodations alone.

A spokesperson from the ninth circuit says that tax dollars will not pay for any of the "recreational activities" on the trip's agenda, but senior Republican Senators Grassley and Sessions are now demanding a breakdown of the conference's expenses.

Senator Grassley joins Starting Point this morning to explain why he is skeptical of the meeting, saying that he feels that some of the conference's activities are "unnecessary" and insisting that there are "other ways of holding conference in social networking environments."