I’m not a Chaffetz fan but he is right about this. It is best for Congressmen to live in their districts and not become full-time Washingtonians. But DC is very expensive and the costs of two households are staggering. They need a housing stipend, but a modest one lest they get too comfortable there.
It still doesn't address the issue of having to live away from your family, but Congress isn't in session that many days during the year.
They don’t need a stipend. If Congress confined itself to legitimate Federal powers they could get all their business done in 3-4 weeks a year. And keep in mind that Washington is only an expensive place to live because Congress has turned it into a place where every special interest group has a bunch of paid whores living there.
Why do they have to live there? With all of the technology, they should all live in their districts. A virtual presence should suffice.And, they should be required to do their job, not supporting lobbyists etc. You don’t show up for work, you get your pay docked. Miss enough sessions and you are fired.
Well these people we elect are not supposed to be full time
employees. They are not supposed to be professional politicians, but we have them. How have they been able to hang-in-there for 20, 30, 40 years and retire on a great salary.
They don’t need a “housing stipend”, which is in effect a pay increase. The congressional perks are obscene even before you could in, for example, being exempted from Obamacare.
Even if they choose to set up two full households, they’re already over the average American income per household.
If their congressional pay is way more than they’ve made otherwise, they shouldn’t complain about maintaining the modest lifestyle they otherwise can afford. If it isn’t, they out to have the resources to continue a decent lifestyle. The pension perks from “serving” are huge as well.