Rep. Joaquin Castro knows a little about real estate, in part because his twin, Julian, is secretary of Housing and Urban Development. So after winning a safely Democratic seat three years ago, he decided buying a condo on the Hill was a smart investment.
He soon started noticing, when walking home at night, how many windows in the darkened House office buildings emanated a distinctive bluish light. Castro guesses the number of his colleagues inside, watching TV while falling asleep, has only grown and easily tops 50 these days.
“I’ve been joking with my brother,” the San Antonio congressman says with a broad grin, “that he should have HUD designate this place a public housing project.”
Humor aside, there’s a strong argument to be made for the conclusion. The dozens of members who sleep in their offices are, in effect, spending their weekdays in 100 percent federally subsidized apartments.
They are not charged any rent. They receive no utility bills. They don’t pay for the daily cleaning services. Microwaves and refrigerators have been installed in most suites. There’s a half bathroom connected to each personal office, and the showers at the members’ gym open at 5:30 a.m.
In short, lawmakers who choose their offices as their crash pads are getting a valuable government freebie — worth 10 percent or more of their $174,000 annual salary.
Zillow, the real estate search engine, on Wednesday listed 50 studio or one-bedroom apartments for lease on Capitol Hill, a solid majority for between $18,000 and $23,000 a year. (The cheapest, 447 square feet on 15th Street Southeast, was $1,100 a month.) Airbnb was offering more than 300 spots in the neighborhood for shorter-term rent, at an average of $152 a night. Even with that arrangement, House members would need to budget $17,000 for lodging on the 110 or so weeknights their schedule says they can expect to be in D.C. this year.
The fact that members are free to freeload off Congress is back in the news this week, as the House voted to maintain the congressional pay freeze for a seventh year. The few lawmakers willing to advocate for a raise inevitably lamented the expense of maintaining places to live in both their districts and high-cost Washington. Those complaints, in turn, revived chatter about the growing numbers who have figured out how to avoid the problem.
No Capitol administrative office claims to keep track of which members bunk next to their desks, but news stories and anecdotal reports suggest the number is at least 45 and may be 70 or higher. No senators appear to be doing so, and the House contingent seems to be exclusively male — and lopsidedly Republican.
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