Chaffetz calls for $2,500 legislator housing stipend

The Hill ^ | 6/27/17 | Scott Wong

[wbarmy]

Truer words have not been spoken. The local landlords would immediately jump up the rent knowing exactly how much extra they could and would get.

[\/\/ayne]

Why don’t you stay in local military housing? We’ll give you a discount.

[doosee]

Jason will now enjoy his lifetime pension that I think comes with healthcare.

[mewzilla]

How about FEMA trailers for Congressional trailer trash?

[dforest]

My life would be much easier right now if y’all paid my rent.

[leaning conservative]

Hasn’t this guy been “retiring” forever? Go away.

[NutsOnYew]

I’m willing to give them a housing allowance. But in exchange, congress needs to stop exempting itself from the laws it passes, cancel all these vacations, work a full M-F week, pay for their own travel and give up their government pensions.

[sphinx]

I've often suggested that Members of Congress should be paid whatever they were making before they got elected -- maybe an average of the three previous years to limit gaming the system -- with a housing allowance comparable to what senior federal employees get when on an extended deployment. Yes, that would mean Members would be making different salaries. So what? If they're elected as representatives of the general public, that might be a good thing. And people who are still in the career building and capital accumulation stages of life should be incentivized to develop their careers in the private sector instead of turning to public "service" as a path to personal enrichment.

That said, Washington is a notoriously expensive housing market and Capitol Hill, long an affordable neighborhood, has recently gotten very expensive as the city has gentrified. Members of Congress shouldn't have to live in Germantown or Haymarket and spend four hours a day commuting -- although it might be useful to impose that as a penalty on some of them who come from places where they still think building roads is the solution to our urban transportation issues.

For what it's worth, the nearest congressional to me is a Senator around the corner on my block living in a tiny, utterly plain rowhouse that would probably sell for $30,000 in most cities around the U.S. (i.e., anywhere except DC, NYC, San Francisco, etc.). It is part of a row that, not too many years ago, was mostly abandoned and boarded up, with more than a few gaping windows. Gentrification has now rolled over the area and Zillow says that row now sells for about $750,000. I don't know when that particular Senator bought the place, but I imagine critics back home sometimes look at the price tag and make reference to a Capitol Hill mansion. Not so. It's tiny and can be considered cute only because it blends with the Victorian ambience of the area, and because the trees on the block are mature.

Yes, Members can be strapped on a congressional salary if they're maintaining a family house at home. And if they bring their families to Washington and try to live in the city, you can add private school tuitions to the price tag. My guess is that most of them with school age kids leave their families at home for that reason.

[doosee]

Jason will now enjoy his lifetime pension that I think comes with healthcare.

[Soul of the South]

Some thoughts:

1) Chaffetz has been a member of the House since January 2009, or slightly more than 8 years. His salary is $174,000 per year which is over 4 times the average income of the taxpayers who pay his salary.
2) Chaffetz ran for reelection to a 2 year term in 2016. Less than 5 months after being sworn in to the current term he announced he is leaving Congress. What changed between November and May? Certainly not the economics of living in Washington. It appears Mr. Chaffetz mislead the voters of his district during the 2016 election cycle by offering his services for another 2 years.
3) If one believes in the free market, it evident Congressional compensation is more than adequate. Each election cycle there are plenty of candidates for the $174,000 jobs. When jobs are vacated during mid term state Governors never seem to be challenged finding candidates to fill the open positions. There is no compelling economic reason to raise compensation by adding a housing allowance.
4) As others have pointed out, if there is a housing crisis for Congress critters, the answer is building dormitories or barracks next to the Capitol.
5) His behavior suggests Chaffetz is another arrogant narcissist politician who is cashing in on the connections he has made, and favors he has performed, during eight years in Congress. To suggest the taxpayers give Congressmen a $2500 per month housing allowance shows he is tone deaf to the struggles of the middle class and an economy where nearly 100 million working age people are unemployed.
6) If the rumors are correct, and he is going to Fox News as a commentator, he will be arriving while the ship is going down. If the Murdoch boys believe Chaffetz is the answer to reclaiming the dwindling audience they are deceiving themselves. The conservatives who are tuning out cable and network news aren’t going to return to hear a faux conservative ex-Congressman bloviate. A year from now Mr. Chaffetz may find himself on the street after a very short broadcast career.

[cgbg]

Move Congress to Des Moines or Columbus—then housing costs won’t be a problem...

[Soul of the South]

“Build a spartan Congressional barracks facility in Washington and be done with it.”

Actually some Democrats in Congress, including Chuck Schumer, do live in shared accommodations. Not a Schumer, Durbin, or Miller fan but they aren’t asking for a housing allowance for themselves like Chaffetz.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/politics/real-alpha-house/index.html

[MIchaelTArchangel]

Why not just REQUIRE all Representatives and Senators to live in the housing projects they authorized in the DC area?

[silverleaf]

Hey maybe they can live on military base housing

[leaning conservative]

Brilliant idea ; )

[Ouderkirk]

Let me see if I have this straight....you’re making $175K/yr and you are having trouble making ends meet?

If you want housing....we can get you a cell, or maybe a rubber room

[i_robot73]

>Words escape me.

Oh? I got plenty.

How ‘bout dissolve D.C. and make our critters ‘work from home’.

No need for stipends and the lobbying\arm-twisting will be a REAL PITA.

There’s nothing, aside from illegality & show-boating that can’t be done remotely.

Just think, it’ll give ‘em more time so they can actually READ the bills they pass but don’t write! *spit*

[bankwalker]

teleconference ... no need to go to DC.

I think the Alaska state legislature does it IIRC.

[i_robot73]

>
This is a horrendously complex problem. On the one hand, Congressional salaries should provide an adequate living - and they are not even close here - on the other hand much of their costs are caused by the high cost of living in DC caused by their own political whoring.
>

No, quite easy. Their salaries should reflect the avg. of the country as their rules/regs/laws effect the bottom-line of every entity in this country (and outside @ times too).

There WAS a concept of ‘public service’, which quickly morphed into ‘public graft’.

“Where is it written...” is uttered way too much. It should finally dawn on some that the Constitution has been effectively abolished in all but name.