‘It’s almost nasty’: Dems seek crackdown on sleeping in the Capitol
A bloc of House Democrats is calling for an ethics investigation into the widespread practice of lawmakers sleeping in their offices, arguing it’s an abuse of taxpayer funds.
More than two dozen members of the Congressional Black Caucus signed on to a letter obtained by POLITICO to Ethics Committee Chairwoman Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) and ranking member Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) asking for a probe into the “legality and propriety” of such conduct by members of Congress.
“There’s something unsanitary about bringing people to your office who are talking about public policy where you spent the night, and that’s unhealthy, unsanitary — and some people would say it’s almost nasty,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee.
The CBC’s push targets a practice popular among conservatives triggered by former Rep. Dick Armey, an architect of the 1994 “Republican Revolution.” Lawmakers often sleep in their offices to showcase their thriftiness and their aversion to the Washington swamp.
But it may violate House rules or federal law, according to Democratic critics.
“Members who sleep overnight in their offices receive free lodging, free cable, free security, free cleaning services, and utilize other utilities free of charge in direct violation of the ethics rules which prohibit official resources from being used for personal purposes,” the letter to the Ethics Committee states.
Among the 30 CBC signatories to the previously unreported Dec. 13 letter are CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
They asked for a response from the Ethics Committee by Jan. 5. Two months have since elapsed, and members say they’ve heard nothing back. Members are considering issuing a follow-up letter, which would be the third in a saga one member says began almost two years ago. And if Democrats retake the House in November, they’re almost certain to raise the issue again.
A spokesperson for the House Ethics Committee declined to comment.
The practice reaches the highest levels of Congress. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are among the dozens of members who sleep in their offices overnight. Estimates of how many do it range from 40-plus to more than 100. And while the list skews heavily Republican and male, some women and Democrats do it, too.
The Democratic critics argue that the behavior is unethical and beneath the dignity of the office. They also say it is unfair to the hundreds of members who choose to live outside the Capitol paying Washington’s high living costs.
“The House office buildings are ‘OFFICE’ buildings,” the letter continues. “[E]ach Member’s office within the building should be used to serve the people of the Member’s district, not as a personal residence. The House office buildings are not apartment complexes, homes or any other kind of residence.”
The Democrats also say lawmakers sleeping in their offices could create a hostile work environment, particularly if staffers are tasked with cleaning up members’ sleeping arrangements or interacting with lawmakers in inappropriate sleeping attire. However, even in the #MeToo era, there’s been no indication that sleeping in the office has led to any untoward behavior or harassment.
Lawmakers who sleep in the Capitol reject these charges; they say it’s a way for them to work harder for their constituents.
“I get up very early in the morning. I work out. I work until about 11:30 at night. I go to bed. And I do the same thing the next day,” Ryan said in 2015 when asked whether he would continue sleeping in his office after becoming speaker. “It actually makes me more efficient. I can actually get more work done by sleeping on a cot in my office.”
The letter recommends that if the committee determines the practice is permitted, that members who live in House office buildings be taxed at the “fair market value of a Capitol Hill apartment.”
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) pointed out in an interview that lawmakers pay taxes on reserved parking spaces on the Capitol campus but can live in their offices for free.
“If it is OK, then aren’t there tax implications?” she said. “If you park your car in a reserved spot, you pay taxes on that. You park your body in a reserved spot overnight on a daily basis and there’s no tax implication. That doesn’t seem to make too much sense.”
Some CBC members also suggested that if the committee gives a formal green light to the practice, the House should provide lawmakers a per diem to help with living expenses, as many state legislatures do across the country, or a cost-of-living salary increase.
“We think what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Watson Coleman said. “If you’re giving members an opportunity to live here rent-free using all the facilities, then perhaps those who are forced to live outside of the campus should have some consideration as well.”
One CBC member who declined to be named also criticized Republicans for advocating cuts to safety net programs while living rent-free in a government building.
“I think public housing should be for people who need it, not for members of Congress,” the member said, adding that some of the lawmakers who sleep in the Capitol are multimillionaires.
Regardless, the CBC members are growing impatient with the Ethics Committee’s pace in addressing their inquiry.
“I think that two months is more than enough time for the committee to do its work,” Thompson said. “Normally, when members inquire of the committee, there’s always a prompt response.”