Crash Pad Congressmen: Lawmakers Sleeping in Offices May Be Breaking Rules, Watchdogs Say

These Congressmen are earning $174,000 per year and say they cannot afford to rent an apartment in Washington DC so they sleep in their offices which are US Government Property. OK you got this far now THINK. These Congressmen all have a Congressional staff of 6 to 12 workers in their Congressional Offices working for them at salaries averaging around $40,000 per year. How do the Congressman's staff survive in DC on salaries averaging only $40,00 per year, when the Congressmen say they cannot pay rent on their salaries or $174,000 per year.
How about the 200,000 federal workers who work all over DC in offices for salaries averaging $40,000 per year___Should they all be allowed to sleep where they work because their salaries are far lower than the Congressman's salaries.
Can post office workers in DC with a starting salary of $28,000 per year sleep in the post offices where they work? Can social security employees earning $35,000 per year in DC sleep in their offices to avoid paying rent??
Better yet, if it costs so much to live in Washington DC why did the President and Congress Freeze salaries of federal workers who earn way under $50,00 per year on average. How are the workers supposed to live on low salaries when their bosses the Congressmen claim they cannot live on $174,000 per year?
Look it up on Jobs USA___Federal airport security jobs starts at $9.00 per hour. Federal National Forest Service fire forest fighters start at $9.00 per hour. Federal Park rangers that work around the monuments in DC start at $8.50 per hour. Yet the Congressmen claim they cannot pay rent on their $174,00 per year salaries.

Much ado about nothing...

There is no reason for being opposed to this except to stir up controversy!
Sleep where you want...

They have an office assigned to them and they make use of it 24 hours a day. If they are that frugal with their time and expenses, they are probably spending our money economically. We need more congressmen like that.

SHAME SHAME SHAME. My 26 yr old daughter lives and works in DC. She currently earns $1300 per week (and taxes are high in DC!). NO BENEFITS. She rents a safe and secure 2 BR and 2 bath apt with a friend (doorman for security, laundry facilities etc) and being at Mt Vernon Sq, is walkable to the Capitol. She splits the rent and pays $1050 per month. My 23 yr old son also lives and works in DC - $850 per week in salary (NO BENEFITS) and pays $950 per month rent in a historic row house in one of DC's trendiest centrally located areas.

174k annually, plus all benefits- that is not including all of the lobbyists- try more like 250k- they should have to have a place to live- or made to quit the job- would your boss allow you to sleep at work just because you do not have a place to live by choice?!? I say- take all of their salaries away- wouldn't that help reduce the deficit- working in congress should be for free- after all do they not want what is best for the country.

Are there no homeless shelters or boarding house to which these poor congressmen may adjourn to? I suppose cutting non-defense spending has reduced the number of surplus homeless shelters thus necessitating their bunking in their Capital Hill offices. Very frugal. I wondered if I as a tax payer could also get a place. I Googled room reservations on Capital Hill, but to no avail. I kept getting directed to a Citizens United web site. Can't figure that one out.

Anyway, at least they have a gym to go to in the morning. Our founding fathers were well ahead of their times. Imagine designing a gym into the Capital. It must not be original as I can't envision our early members of Congress pumping iron in between voting on the Sedition Acts and complaining about Barbary Coast terrorists. From what I can gather from my old Virginia History text book, the gym was most likely added right after the Spanish burned Washington during the French and Indian War of 1912. Nevertheless, extraordinary foresight and quite useful in building strength to battle runaway spending and reduce the national debt.

If I moved for my job, would not allow me to sleep in the office. Bunk together, that is what a lot of others do. Live outside the DC area. Charles County is w/in 45 minutes and rents are cheaper. Get over it. You have a job, be grateful.

So lets see if I have this right. Congressmen can have a residence in expensive DC paid for by the taxpayers, or sleep in THEIR office free, and a private organization CREW objects to saving the taxpayer money. HMMMMMM

Margarita-
No wonder these guys have no idea how the rest of us live. I am on Social Security and they all want to cut my check. Guys, I clear @%980 dollars a nonth, less than a month's rent in DC. I get noooooo freebies. Come on, start spending your own money for a change and leave my paltry sum alone.