Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: All perks not bad to House freshmen Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 15:07:56 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION \SS (WS) \HD All perks not bad to House freshmen \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS Many of the 110 freshmen in the House of Representatives say they intend to shun the perks that come with their new jobs. But some want to keep free parking at National Airport. That's vital, they say, to stay close to the voters. Having reserved parking close to the terminal at the busy airport would be "part of performing my job appropriately," said Charles T. Canady, Florida Republican, who may know the ways of Washington better than his fellow classmates because his father once worked as a senator's aide. "The idea that parking is a special perk is an exaggeration," he said. "The airport is a link between the members and their districts," agreed Earl Pomeroy, North Dakota Democrat. "We ought to facilitate people getting out of town as fast as possible to spend more time in their district." But other than parking at the Capitol and the airport, congressional perquisites had few defenders among newly elected lawmakers interviewed in their home states since the election. Many ran against the image of a Congress that had grown apart from the people. "I feel very strongly that the same rules that apply to other people should apply to Congress," said Democrat David Mann of Cincinnati. "Anything that smacks of a double standard, anything that makes Congress a separate class . . . should be eliminated or put on a nonsubsidized basis." "Everything should be cut to the absolute bone," said Tom Barlow, Kentucky Democrat. "We're in for lean times in the nation, and people want discipline." The new congressmen will find that the House, in the aftermath of the overdraft scandal at the House bank, already has reduced some perks and raised fees for others. The House bank was shut down. The fee for using the House gym rose from $100 a year to $400. Free prescriptions were abolished. An annual fee of $520 was imposed for formerly free medical care by the Navy's Office of the Attending Physician in the Capitol. The price of haircuts in the House barbershop was doubled to $10. But some of the most politically valuable benefits were left untouched. Among them are the right to send mail free to constituents and the use of congressional TV studios and satellite service to beam home a congressman's words and image. A number of new members made a distinction between perks that enable a lawmaker do his job better - they'd keep those - and those that merely boost a congressman's ego. "I've been in Washington for two weeks, and I can tell you that parking is a necessity, not a perk," said Earl Hilliard, Alabama Democrat. "You can consider a desk a perk," said Jay Inslee, Washington Democrat. "We'd like a desk and a phone, and beyond that we'll take a look at the other issues." "Doing away with the gym is not going to solve the country's problems," said Albert Wynn, Maryland Democrat. "This is a lot of demagoguery." "I do my own hair," said Cynthia McKinney, Georgia Democrat, "and I'm not going to have a car in Washington. But I do intend to exercise." And Jennifer Dunn, Washington Republican, marching to a different drummer, said she didn't know what perks go with her new job, but "I thought the House bank sounded like a nice convenience." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM