Senate Votes To Privatize Its Failing Restaurants

Washington Post ^ | Paul Kane

[writer33]

Year after year, decade upon decade, the U.S. Senate's network of restaurants has lost staggering amounts of money -- more than $18 million since 1993, according to one report, and an estimated $2 million this year alone, according to another.

The financial condition of the world's most exclusive dining hall and its affiliated Capitol Hill restaurants, cafeterias and coffee shops has become so dire that, without a $250,000 subsidy from taxpayers, the Senate won't make payroll next month.

[writer33]

Government can take care of all of us. Do not panic. All is well.

[K-oneTexas]

Close ‘em and turn the space into storage space. Burger King can serve ‘em all Whoppers down the street.

[trumandogz]

What is most disturbing is that that GOP controlled the Senate from 1995 to 2997 and did not privatize the Senate Restaurants.

[bboop]

Oh for cripes’ sake, those buzzards.

[writer33]

Close ‘em and turn the space into storage space. Burger King can serve ‘em all Whoppers down the street.

Good idea. They should be able to afford it on their salaries.

[writer33]

What is most disturbing is that that GOP controlled the Senate from 1995 to 2007 and did not privatize the Senate Restaurants.

Yep, more evidence of a continued excessive federal spending.

[givemELL]

Let them ‘brown bag’ it as more of us do now.

[Rebelbase]

The cafeteria in the basement of the Senate office building is a great place to eat lunch when touring Capitol Hill.

[bolobaby]

Let’s socialize health care and the oil industry, too!

[null and void]

If the government ran it, crime wouldn’t pay...

[writer33]

Good point, null and void. Good point.

[writer33]

A brown bag never hurt anyone. But you and I know that’s far beneath them.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Simply put. what a$$wholes! I'm goin’ underground. I'll trade my services as often as I can.

[Vinnie]

Don't they have their own gas pumps also? Buy gas at a substantial savings

[quantim]

Too bad we can’t privatize the senate — maybe it could save us all a whole lot of $$$ and not get people killed all the time and bust our wallets at the same time.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

But Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), speaking for the group of senators who opposed privatizing the restaurants, said that "you cannot stand on the Senate floor and condemn the privatization of workers, and then turn around and privatize the workers here in the Senate and leave them out on their own."

A loss of $2 million on annual revenue of $10 million. Let's see, $2 million divided by 100 Senators -- they need to pony up only $20,000 each to get to breakeven in 2008. They should each certainly be willing to do this to save those food service worker jobs and prevent them from being turned over to evil capitalists.

[writer33]

Now, Vinnie. There are no perks in D.C. It’s a tough life.

:-)

They probably do have their own pumps, and I bet you it’s tax free gas.

[razorback-bert]

Calling Gordon Ramsey.

[library user]

bookmark.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

So good to hear that they are about solving our most urgent problems.