Posted on 11/02/2023 1:56:45 PM PDT by antidemoncrat
Damn !! Just damn!
“All of ‘em will be eating hot dogs.......and getting reimbursed for steak dinners.”
Wrong. They’ll have their steak and eat it too.
They’ll eat for free and expense it at full price anyway.
Maybe paying income taxes should be 100% based on the honor system just like rules for voting (without ID) and these political perks.
...... paying income taxes should be 100% based on the honor system.........
.....(just like the rules for voting without ID.... and these political perks).......
I like it.
See My FRTagline...
Some ‘rising star’ he turned out to be!
How about we the people vote on whether you get a raise or not.
They just gave themselves a raise about 2 yrs ago, FFS! So now they’ll make close to $350,000 for 2-1/2 days of work. They helped to create the inflation we’re all struggling with and then claim they need a raise because of that same inflation they voted for! Meanwhile most of the little ppl haven’t gotten raises in yrs and many of us have seen our jobs disappear. My opinion of them couldn’t get much lower.
“Can get additional money for housing, meals, without receipts confirming the bills.”
Boy, that must be nice. My company won’t reimburse $10 for parking without a receipt.
L
Unbelievable!
While everyone else eats sh*t with their inflation.
This makes me want to throw up. TERM LIMITS are needed, now more than ever.
It’s a riff on his valuations.
We have no representatives. We have whores we put into positions of vast economic gain. It took me a long time to realize this.
Grifting scum, bankrupters and undertakers of the United States.
Okay, I stand corrected. This is basically old news because they approved the $35,000 raise after Joke was installed in the WH. I was still outraged when it happened, especially since most of those do-nothing GOP grifters sat on their hands while the Dumbocrats stole the presidency from Trump.
I’m gonna tell my boss I voted myself a raise.........
You want a french revolution? Because this is how you get one
Punching another hole in the hull of the ship of state.
“Public Servants”
Washington Free Beacon
Joseph Simonson and Andrew Kerr
Nov 2, 2023
Your Tax Dollars Pay For Millionaire Democrats’ Swanky D.C. Apartments.........And AOC’s, too.
pic-—Millionaire Rep. Katie Porter and Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Taxpayers are funding luxury housing accommodations for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and over 200 other members of Congress, many of whom boast net worths over $1 million.
As one of their last actions with their majority, Democrats quietly tucked a provision into internal House rules that grants lawmakers access to an optional $34,000 annual subsidy to pay for their Washington, D.C., housing and meal expenses. Taxpayers have doled out over $8,700 to pay for the democratic socialist’s lodging and meals throughout the first half of 2023, records show.
In total, 113 Democrats and 104 Republicans have taken advantage of the program, raking in a combined $1.4 million from taxpayers during the first half of 2023, House disbursement records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show. Recipients of these funds include at least 17 millionaire Democrats, including Rep. Katie Porter, who reported a net worth of up to $1.8 million in her latest financial disclosure, and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D., Mass.), who boasts a net worth of up to $13.5 million.
House Democrats passed the housing subsidy in response to criticism from younger members including Ocasio-Cortez, who have long complained that their $174,000 salary is insufficient to maintain a home in their districts and pay for skyrocketing rent in the nation’s capital. Since taking office in 2019, Ocasio-Cortez has rented an apartment in a luxury Washington, D.C., building that boasts amenities including a rooftop pool and indoor golf simulator.
Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow members of the “Squad,” six of whom voted against a House resolution last week condemning Hamas’s terrorist rampage in Israel, can also thank taxpayers for financing their Washington, D.C., living expenses. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) has billed taxpayers over $14,000 for lodging and meals during the first half of 2023. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) has received $6,800 from taxpayers to pay for her lodging and meals.
And “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.), who was ordered last week to pay a $1,000 fine for intentionally pulling a fire alarm in a House office building in September, has received $6,200 to pay for his rent and meals. Bowman reported in his latest financial disclosure that his wife owns a pension valued at over $50 million, though his office told the Free Beacon in September that the asset is worth just $50,000. The filing has yet to be amended.
As taxpayers finance the living expenses for wealthy lawmakers, a record number of Americans are struggling to pay their own rent. A Harvard study in July found that a record 21.6 million households are spending more than 30 percent of their pre-tax income on rent. And the cost of groceries has increased by more than 20 percent since President Joe Biden took office. Median household income in 2022 was $74,580, or about 43 percent of what members of Congress make.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) received the largest share of funds out of any lawmaker. The Florida Republican, who led the effort to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in part due to his budgetary policies, has billed taxpayers nearly $17,000 from January through May to pay for his D.C. living expenses. Gaetz received an additional $6,200 to pay for his meals during the same timeframe, an average of over $1,250 per month.
Gaetz’s wife, Ginger Gaetz, frequently brags on social media that the Florida Republican is a great chef and posts pictures of his culinary creations from their Washington, D.C., residence. Gaetz told the Free Beacon his taxpayer-funded meals are made with discount buy-one-get-one-free products.
“I’ve complied with the law, and my cooking is often with discount BOGO products. I try to do the best in the kitchen from the BOGO life,” Gaetz said. “During my time in Congress, I’ve returned over $860,000 to taxpayers from the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA).”
By covertly authorizing the housing subsidy through an internal rule change, Democrats effectively gave representatives a pay raise without triggering political backlash, the New York Times reported. Former Rep. Mo Brooks (R., Ala.) railed against the secretive nature of the housing subsidy in January.
“You can have a good public policy debate on whether congressmen should be paid more in order to attract a better bunch, and you could have a reasonable debate on inflation adjustments, but it really ought to be done in public,” Brooks said. “That’s my biggest beef, that it was a clandestine secret.”
Congressional Progressive Staff Association spokeswoman Zoe Bluffstone also slammed the program, telling the Times that House offices should focus on increasing pay for staffers, who often “live paycheck to paycheck, take on debt, or work second jobs in order to survive due to persistently low wages on the Hill.”
The subsidy is funded through members’ office budgets, and lawmakers can expense up to $258 per day in lodging costs and $79 per day in meals for days when the House is in session or when attending official committee meetings. The rate is set by the General Services Administration. Members of the House can be reimbursed for hotels or rentals, but cannot use the subsidy to make mortgage payments.
Lawmakers do not have to submit receipts for reimbursement, and only have to certify that they incurred the “eligible expenses,” according to the Members’ Congressional Handbook.
Charles Hilu contributed to this report.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.