HUFFINGTON
08.05.12
REBECCA D’ANGELO/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
CAPITOL HILL
by gyms like Results, where annual
dues exceed $1,000.
Our lawmakers certainly don’t
need to work hard to get to the office or to get around. A private subway system, built in 1909, ferries
them the short distance between
their offices or committee rooms
and the Capitol. When senators approach their members-only elevators, staffers push the buttons and
open doors ahead of them so the
lawmakers don’t have to wait.
If some Republicans’ offices
double as bedrooms, their living room more than makes up for
it. On the House side, lawmakers
can relax in the Speaker’s Lobby,
an opulent, history-soaked lounge
with plush chairs and multiple
fireplaces just off the House floor.
Building staff makes sure the room
is stocked with plenty of firewood.
For congressmen, parking in
Washington is effectively free.
Members on “official duty” are exempt from most local parking laws.
And when lawmakers leave Washington and head back to their home
districts on Fridays, taxpayers pay
the fare. The farther a member’s
district is located from Washington, the greater the travel budget to
which they are entitled.
Taxpayers also pick up the tab
whenever congressional delegations visit foreign countries on
Lobbyists
Heather
and Tony
Podesta of
the Chairman
Podesta
Group
celebrate the
marriage of
Rep. Loretta
Sanches
(D-Calif.)
at a barbeque
in 2011.