Congress At The Trough
I've racked up some restaurant bills, but nothing like the average bill of $1,971 our elected representatives do.
From the October 1, 2005 edition of the Washington Post:
Powerful Hungry
"Ever wonder where your campaign donations went?$10,500 in one visit? I wonder how large the entourage was. His Bloatedness doesn't need to pack on any more pounds, so I hope he had the low cal/low fat platter and kept in mind that, according to Diet Center and Weight Watchers, alcohol provides empty calories.
"Bloomberg News offered up this little bonbon yesterday: Members of Congress have racked up average tabs of at least $1,000 in local restaurants within the past 2 1/2 years, PAC and campaign filings show.
"At high-end steak joint Sam & Harry's, politicians had an average bill of $1,971 in 80 visits. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) spent $10,500 there one night with his entourage. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) has spent $50,000 there in 2 1/2 years. That's a lot of beef!"
"Lawmakers dropped an average of $1,140 in 157 visits to the Caucus Room and $1,303 in 160 trips to Charlie Palmer Steak. The Caucus Room's general manager, Ed D'Alessandro, said about 20 percent of his business comes from members of Congress and added, 'Without Congress, we'd have to downsize.'I suppose that politicians do burn a lot of calories with all the hot wind they expel on the floor of Congress and in front of the television cameras. Our elected representatives must keep up their energy levels!
"Overall, members of Congress spent $1.5 million from early 2003 through June 2005 at 10 restaurants: Caucus Room ($292,114), Charlie Palmer Steak ($208,492), Sam & Harry's ($157,719), Bistro Bis ($157,029), La Colline ($147,189), Monocle ($143,731), Signatures ($130,598), Capital Grille ($122,167), Oceanaire ($88,806) and the now-closed La Brasserie ($56,982)."
Did this money-for-gourmet-food come from campaign donations? Are these fellows charging their restaurant bills to taxpayer-funded expense accounts?
If our elected representatives can afford such extravagance out of their own pockets, they can also afford a cut in salary.
posted by Always On Watch @ 10/04/2005 08:35:00 AM
18 comments
18 Comments:
Samwich,
Good question! I've heard about that Kennedy Family tradition.
The nurse who tended Joe, Sr., wrote a book about how the family didn't want to pay her after the old man died. I can't recall the title of the book, but it was a doozie.
If you think that was expensive imagine the cost of a meal for the biggest lunch club in the world..........The United Nations
Gandalf,
Another disgrace, IMO.
We get the Democracy we deserve.
what I will never understand is why their opposition doesnt use this stuff in local elections to expose these guys.
While it wouldnt upset the base of most Repub candidates, I would imagine the "poor and underprivledged" voter base of the Dems would be outraged to know they are on food stamps while Teddy is eating out at $10k steak dinners.
There is the side advantage that is that when these Congressmen are out stuffing their faces, they're not attempting to write laws.
Always try reading the laws it is enough to give one fits. I had to read an eight page precedent and I wanted to put my head through a wall.
Pastorius and G,
I believe that opponents don't often reveal the information because the opponents also have something in their own political past which can be exposed. Nobody running for office appears to be squeaky clean.
BTW, not a word about that Post item here in the D.C. area. Anywhere else?
Mr. Beamish,
Once again, you've found the silver lining. You're correct that our representatives can do legislative harm while they're stuffing their faces--unless they move their legislative sessions to a fancy restaurant, that is.
Maybe they'll stuff themselves so much that they can't get out of bed for days, thereby not allowing for a quorum.
Beak,
I've heard that some of the laws passed by Congress specifically exclude the laws' applications to themselves. True?
Precedents prove that the domino theory is correct, as it applies to the judicial system.
It is true that Congress does exempt itself from legislation on many fronts.
Yet in my area immigration law the law is all over the place, Letimation laws vary from state to state and country to country. It is a royal mess to put it mildly.
It is true that Congress does exempt itself from legislation on many fronts.
Yet in my area immigration law the law is all over the place, Letimation laws vary from state to state and country to country. It is a royal mess to put it mildly.
Shoot, AOW, I meant to post a link to it here, but is seems this problem is not isolated to the US. There was just recently a high figure in the Canadian Govnt that resigned due to some "innapropriate" spending on his official expense accounts (like a $138 pizza for two?).
Samwich,
As a traditional Protestant, I don't subscribe to the living getting the dead into eternity. I see an individual's faith in the perfect substitutionary sacrifice of God's Son (as opposed to works) as the pass to heaven and will trust God's judgment as to those gone before, those who didn't have the opportunity to hear His Word. We are His creations; His standard is the perfect standard of fairness as man's standards are flawed by imperfection.
Also, as a traditional Protestant, I don't believe in addition revelations, so we would differ in that regard as well.
Thanks for clarifying some points about Mormonism.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous,
The way this nation is dealing with immigration is appalling.
The race for Virginia governor has heated up on that issue: one candidate, the Democrat, says that the feds have fallen down on the job and need to live up to their duties; the other candidate says that the state and local authorities need to take a more active role. Meanwhile, the legal immigrants are getting angry that the various regulations which applied to the law-abiding newcomers to this nation are being ignored and/or pushed aside--and pushed aside at taxpayers' expense, including but not limited to the establishment of day-laborer centers.
As you said, "A royal mess."
G,
A $138 pizza for two? Maybe the high tab was due to an expensive wine. LOL.
Tyler,
But I'll bet the diners on the tabs didn't donate to the campaign funds. It would be interesting to view the guest lists, though.
Thanks for stopping by.
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