Rep. Jackie Speier dons pajamas to fight lawmakers sleeping in offices

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jackie Speier wants you to see her in her pajamas — in the hopes of exposing the “dirty little secret” of members of Congress sleeping in their workplaces.

It’s a practice she argues should be banned.

The San Mateo Democrat posted a video Monday that features her at first in work attire, showing off her office as a place where she meets with constituents and does the business of her district.

But then the video cuts to her wearing tasteful black and white floral pajamas, with the office’s leather couch made up as a bed. She hopes it’s jarring, because she’s arguing that members using their offices as their D.C. residence “is wrong.”

Read more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Jackie-Speier-dons-pajamas-to-fight-lawmakers-15278156.php

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The video:

Link to tweet

[DURHAM D]

1. I also think it is wrong.

Thank you Congresswoman Speier.

I have thought this was wrong for years.

[Siwsan]

2. Maybe they should build a congressional barracks.

The one I lived in when I was stationed in San Diego was pretty nice - 4 rooms off of a common 'social' area. The rooms were double occupancy and "en suite", but these would be single. They members pay a nominal rental fee. It would certainly be more comfortable and private than sleeping in their offices.

Whether they be coed or separated by gender - meh. The barracks I lived in when I was stationed in Iceland was coed and, during the duration of my stay, there were never any issues.

[iluvtennis]

22. LIke the idea of barracks. nt

[IronLionZion]

23. We're always going to have congresspeople. They will always need housing

and it would be easier to secure and transport them.

[Marcuse]

30. I'm sure something could be arranged.

[Action_Patrol]

35. No need to build it.

The old dormitory for the house pages is still there and since the program was disbanded, it’s vacant and secure.

[ploppy]

3. Good for her!

I can't tell you how disgusting this is to me. They should act like adults and stop whining. Hicks.

[stopdiggin]

4. technically, perhaps. and maybe it ought to be discouraged.

but it seems kind of a strange thing to be highlighting right now.
(And tying this to Covid-19 .. is pretty weak. Let's just say you don't like it.)

[Igel]

5. I sleep in my workspace.

Bed's about 6 feet away from my work computer. Webcam for meetings points to an innocuous part of the room.

The cats also sleep in here.

As of 2018, here is the salary/supplemental funding for the House/Senate folk:

https://www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/9c14ec69-c4e4-4bd8-8953-f73daa1640e4.pdf

[DURHAM D]

7. The staff member pay is not great but they

can't sleep at the office.

iows - they pay a disproportionate amount of their salary for housing

[No Vested Interest]

6. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH1) sleeps in his office, according to many

newspaper reports.

[Coventina]

8. Somehow, I can't bring myself to care about this issue right now.

[flibbitygiblets]

11. +1 I'm not even sure what the problem is, and frankly don't GAF

[Midwestern Democrat]

32. Completely agree. Frankly, Jackie Speier might not be the best messenger for this issue -

according to Open Secrets, she's the 36th wealthiest member of the House with an estimated net worth of $11 million - I highly doubt any of the congressmen sleeping in their offices have a net worth anywhere remotely approaching that.

[Warpy]

9. It beast living with "The Family" in their rooms for Congressmen

Depending on where they're from, some of these guys just can't pay the bills back home and still manage to rent much of anything in DC. Parts of southern MD are a little cheaper, but they're also generally full of college students, not terribly attractive to somebody who has to sleep at night.

Of course, her complaint is probably against the ones who came to DC to get rich quick and want to throw every dime into the stock market on insider tips Congressmen get.

[mtngirl47]

20. I agree with you---my previous congressman lived with "The Family" n/t

[NotHardly]

10. Thus, one either needs to be rich or Congress could use more people who think critically...

Amazing, Congress can't even begin to think its way out of this "stupid" situation that has been going on for decades. Does not increase my faith in the system or system-shapers.

[truthisfreedom]

12. I have no idea how I feel about this.

[gibraltar72]

13. Lyin Tim Walberg has always slept in his office.

Most dishonest Christstain I ever met. I always wondered if he was on the list of creepers that hang there and sexually harrass staffers.

[OMGWTF]

16. "Christstain" -- good one!

[lunatica]

24. I thought it was a typo at first

[roamer65]

26. Walberg is a real piece of shit.

I will be throwing some bucks to his Democratic challenger this year.

We flipped MI-11 and MI-8 in 2018. Time to flip his district along with Fred Upton’s.

[gibraltar72]

27. I shadowed some meetings of Walberg for Gretchen

in the past. Unbelievable the stuff that comes out of his mouth. I mean jaw dropping stuff.

[roamer65]

31. I believe it.

He’s human garbage.

[TreasonousBastard]

14. I really don't give a shit. It's embarrassing, but come up with a solution other than...

"live within your means"

Didn't this sleeping in your office start with some Rs doing it to make some sort of statement during a Clinton term? That any Congresscritters do this is humiliating to the nation and reinforces their arguments (however twisted) against any form of housing assistance.

Apparently, from Day 1 of the Articles of Confederation, pay for public servants seemed to be more like servants pay:

https://www.thoughtco.com/salaries-and-benefits-of-congress-members-3322282

However, although some of them do not deserve even that basic income the job itself is serious enough to be worth perhaps more than a Target retail manager. At least more than twice as much.

Perhaps some form of dorm setup. What they have now is an embarrassment for a country "made great again".

[TreasonousBastard]

15. On second thought-- perhaps Donnie could donate one of his hotels for housing.

[George II]

17. What a great video. Get the point across diplomatically yet not offensively.

[zaj]

18. "Unseemly"? Seriously? Is this the "problem" we need Congress working on right now.

We have actual Nazis in the White House.
One entire political party has collapsed into fascism
We have 30 million people unemployed
Nearly 100,000 people have died in 2 months...

... and THIS is what she's drawing our attention to?

Seriously?

Let's focus back on defeating fascism again savingmillions of lives.

K, thx.

[Duppers]

25. +100

TY!

[aggiesal]

19. I thought they got a housing allowance? ...

If so, are the 100, just pocketing the housing allowance money?
Why can't congress just buy an apartment building and treat is as dorm?

Better ways of sleeping, than sleeping in the office.

[patphil]

21. Don't give a sheet.

I'm not willing to donate any feces to this.

[gibraltar72]

28. Somewhere in my memory hole I believe

the Christstain element of the R party had a building where some of them stayed like in a dorm. Anyone else remember that?

[Progressive Jones]

34. "The Family". It's a big house owned by some Christian group. I forgot the official name. nt

[Ford_Prefect]

29. When does the Prefect come around to turn out the lights and make sure everyone's tucked in?

[MoonlitKnight]

33. Just think about all of the non Congress people trying to afford a place to live

Not just in DC.

They should focus on the housing crisis, not members of Congress sleeping on office couches.