The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: PegLeg45 on January 24, 2011, 12:57:12 PM
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Saw this on an early morning news spot (thanks to being a long-time insomniac)....
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/22/congressman-to-camp-out-in-capitol/
Congressman to camp out in Capitol
(CNN) – Newly-minted Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, like many freshman members of Congress, is trying to get settled in before the new session begins. That means quickly getting assigned an office and finding a place to live when in Washington.
To defray costs on housing in DC, some lawmakers choose to room together and split rent. Others find small, basement apartments. Low-end spaces in D.C. run about $1,400 per month.
But Chaffetz has another idea: a cot.
He plans to camp out in his office and shower at the gym in the House.
Lucky for Chaffetz, he drew a low number in the office lottery this morning, which means he'll have his pick of available offices.
"I can look for ones with windows," says Chaffetz. "That's important when you're going be sleeping there."
Some Congressmen Will Sleep in Their Office
January is bringing change. (Thanx to Global Warming – it is getting colder. – Oops, that is for another report.) The House of Representatives will have 94 new members, and at least 15 plan to sleep, according to my sources, in their own Congressional offices rather than rent living space in overpriced Washington, D.C. (Their offices are real nice three-room suites. This is a lot better than my one-room dump over at the Motel 6.)
The demand for housing in Washington, D.C. is so high, the rents have skyrocketed. Washington, D.C. is the only place where housing construction is booming.
This is due to the fact that too much of the stimulus money spent by Congress and the Oval Office Occupant went to the Big Business/Big Government alliance and not enough to main street America. Maybe this is why corporal punishment of Congressmen was outlawed long ago. Yup, this means you can’t challenge your Congressman to a duel.
For a change, we will have some Congressmen who will be practicing what they preach. The message voters sent got through to some of these reps. (We The People don’t like the way you are using our checkbook and ruining our economy and shrinking our liberty.)
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Rep.-elect Todd Rokita, an Indiana Republican, said he decided to sleep in his office after he was shown a 600-square-foot studio renting for $2,000 a month. Most House members earn $174,000 a year but maintain homes in their districts.
There is plenty of space in Congressional offices for a fold-out sleeper. A real comfortable sleeper. You could buy one for a lot less than one month’s rent. In some cases, if you were humble enough, you could purchase one for less than a month’s utilities in that $2000/mo 600 square foot motel room they are calling an apartment.
Many Congressional offices have showers and a kitchenette included and lobbyists have their American Express Cards handy to help out. I just hope these new Congressmen pay as much attention to the lobbyists as the current occupant of the Oval Office does to his teleprompter.
Rep.-elect Clarke Hansen, a Michigan Democrat, is another newcomer planning to bed down by his desk. That is a lot better than an engineer friend of mine who is sleeping in his car after losing his home to foreclosure. His unemployment ran out. He was trying to find work. I know. I have provided him references for numerous employment opportunities he was competing for.
Rep. -elect Hansen said, “I don’t want to be comfortable in Washington because I need to get back to metro Detroit,” he said. “Businesses are struggling right now. Families are struggling. I’m only in Washington to work.” I’m going to look him up when I get back to Washington, D.C.
More at link:
http://thefaulknernews.com/?p=1276
How long will it last after the sore backs set in?? ;) ;D
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Actually quite a few do that for the majority of the time in office. They go home for recesses or holidays/long weekeds.
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Yes, I was surprised at the number after digging into it a little. I also noticed in the news segment last night that they were quick to mention that it was a mix of both Dem's and Rep's that do it.
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Its a bit of a publicity stunt. Real estate has always been expensive in DC. Yet as a college student I was able to live in some pretty nice places. It just took 4 or 5 of us sharing a big house. We had our own rooms except for the occasional couple These guys could easily do the same. I mean hell, their staffers aren't bunking on the couch. It just looks good in the campaign literature. I mean are you seriously going to tell me you can't afford to share a pretty nice two bedroom apartment on $174k a year?
FQ13
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Actually quite a few do that for the majority of the time in office. They go home for recesses or holidays/long weekeds.
Seems pretty smart to me. Skip the rent, and get to afford more plane tickets home. Better for the constituents too. You can blow off a phone call but it's a lot harder to ignore someone kicking you in the ass for being stupid when they are standing right behind you.
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Seems pretty smart to me. Skip the rent, and get to afford more plane tickets home. Better for the constituents too. You can blow off a phone call but it's a lot harder to ignore someone kicking you in the ass for being stupid when they are standing right behind you.
win-win ;D