Oklahoma's James Lankford plans to bed down in D.C. office

[echoes]

Just saw this in todays paper...Hmmm, CONgresscritters sleeping in their offices....sounds like a good first step...maybe?

Holly

Oklahoma's James Lankford plans to bed down in D.C. office when Congress is in session Incoming freshman congressman says family finances won't stretch to rent an apartment

BY CHRIS CASTEEL: December 25, 2010

WASHINGTON — When incoming Congressman James Lankford hosts an open house for friends and family Jan. 5, the visitors to his small Capitol Hill space will see an official office that will double as his sleeping quarters.

Lankford, the Oklahoma City Republican succeeding Rep. Mary Fallin next month, will join a growing number of lawmakers, including another Oklahoman, who sleep in their Capitol Hill offices during the periods Congress is meeting.

The main reason: money.

An efficiency apartment, in realistic commuting proximity to Capitol Hill, easily can cost more than $1,000 a month, and many are much more than that.

Like the other six members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation, Lankford only will be in Washington for congressional business while maintaining his home back in the state.

And, because Congress often is only in town for two or three days a week and sometimes has weeks-long stretches away, an apartment is seen by some lawmakers as a luxury they can't afford.

Lankford, a former Baptist youth camp director, already has stretched his family's finances with his yearlong campaign to win the congressional seat. Though he will start collecting his $174,000 congressional salary soon, he hasn't had a paycheck in a long time.

“I will sleep in my office until I can get back on my feet financially,” Lankford said.

“I do not have a set date when that will occur. We consumed all our savings during the campaign, and I want to prioritize our family finances for my wife and daughters. I plan to look for housing around D.C. when I can afford the rental costs.”

Luck of the draw

Fallin's predecessor, former Rep. Ernest Istook, slept on a couch in his office for a period in the mid-1990s. At the time, he said he spent less than half the year in Washington but was paying more than $700 a month for an apartment.

According to a story in the Chicago Tribune in March, an estimated 30 to 40 of the 435 House members sleep in their offices. And a recent Wall Street Journal story said that at least 14 of the 94 incoming freshmen plan to sleep in their offices.

Members can shower in the gym in one of the three House office buildings. Lankford, who drew a high number in the lottery for office space, wound up on the top floor of the House building farthest from the gym. So he'll get some exercise on the way to the shower.

Rep. John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, has been sleeping in his office for the past four years. According to Sullivan's spokesman, it's because of the high rent.

Though most members who stay in their offices don't publicize it — making an actual count of the office sleepers tough to come by — Sullivan did a campaign ad in 2008 that showed him pumping up the air mattress he uses for his slumbers.

The ad was intended to show Sullivan's frugal side.

“I watch your pennies and I'll watch mine,” Sullivan said in the ad.

http://newsok.com/oklahomas-james-la...rticle/3526580

[kgoerz]

I had a few of these guys renting studio apartments in my building when I lived in DC. A studio apartment went for $1800 per month. But I was living across the street from the capital building. Man I miss living in the City. The south east sucks big time.

[rubberneck]

We need more people in Congress who know what it's like to live from pay check to pay check, or at least by people who know that if they lost their job for a year they would be wiped out. The ones who get into office that are worth millions really have no clue what the average American faces day to day. I have a nice house but i don't think I could swing an $1800 a month apartment on top of it much less a $20 million yacht.

The electoral process is heavily tilted in favor of those who have large personal fortunes and because of that our laws often don't take into effect the economic ramifications on average Americans. Were all victims of our own frame of reference and what seems affordable to a guy who has $30 million in the bank would crush most of the people who post here, myself included. I wouldn't be surprised if the average wealth of this last Congress would place them in the top 5% nationally.

[akv]

Originally Posted by Rubberneck

We need more people in Congress who know what it's like to live from pay check to pay check, or at least by people who know that if they lost their job for a year they would be wiped out. The ones who get into office that are worth millions really have no clue what the average American faces day to day.

This makes sense in theory, though IMHO it boils down to character either way, the kind of candidate who will put what's right ahead of what's re-election friendly. An affluent candidate can make the claim he/she cannot be bought off by special interests relative to one who needs to sleep in their DC office.

If according to Forbes we take the White House for example, Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Reagan were all quite wealthy prior to office. I doubt any of them had lives anything like the average American of their time. It is likely they were successful individuals who had experienced enough adversity in their lives, to foster the compassion required even in a strong successful leader.

In contrast Bill Clinton was among the poorest prior to leaving office, and Obama is believed to be the poorest of them all. Harry Truman on the other hand is a very highly regarded President and very much needed his pension after leaving office.

[Buffalobob]

Another thing they do is buy or lease one of the boats down at Washington Channel and live on it. Traficant used to live down there. I could be wrong, but think that so did Duke Cunningham.

[219seminole]

Rep. Gene Taylor lost his House seat last month and is living in his office. As the article in the link points out, he lived on his boat when he first went to Congress. I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf coast, though I only know Taylor from what I've seen on C-SPAN. I'm sorry that he lost his seat because he has been a good friend of the military.

Lots of the Reps sack out in their offices...prices are just too blinkin' high around here.

http://www.sunherald.com/2010/12/24/...-21-years.html