Cry me a river…
From Fox News: Capitol Hill is a terrible place to work — That’s the lasting impression one might have after listening to lawmakers this week discussed the budget for Congress at a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.
Here are some of the complaints and concerns the lawmakers debated at the session:
- Low wages for aides
- How crummy and expensive the food is in the cafeterias.
- The vulnerability of House garages to a terrorism attack. YET…
- How security precautions make it a pain for staff to navigate the workplace.
- The need to update the electronic voting system in the House chamber (Keep in mind that an accurate tabulation of voting on the House is the quintessence of the entire enterprise).
- Nobody knowing how many lawmakers carry firearms into the Capitol complex, perhaps increasing safety risks.
- The convenience store in the Longworth House Office Building and in women’s restrooms.
- Whether women should be charged for the aforementioned feminine hygiene products in the House.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Florida)
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the top Democrat on the Legislative Branch Appropriations panel and chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, posed multiple questions to acting House Chief Administrative Officer Bill Plaster at the hearing about the availability of tampons and sanitary napkins.
“When you need a feminine hygiene product, you need one. Immediately,” lectured Wasserman Schultz. “For the convenience store to stop stocking products like that is really inconvenient. It’s the opposite of the purpose of a convenience store.”
She even showed Plaster a photo of out-of-order signs slung across feminine hygiene dispensaries around the Capitol. Multiple (female) congressional sources indicated that many of the machines hadn’t carried the appropriate products in about a year. And when supply was on hand, the product was described as outdated.
Moreover, Wasserman Schultz groused that women shouldn’t have to pay the required 25 cents when in need. “It’s like charging for toilet paper,” she protested, then she didn’t “want to go into too much detail” about the issue.
Plaster responded that the vendor “has responded with additional stock,” Wasserman Schultz pointedly retorted the new supply was “insufficient.”
Still, Capitol Hill, with its marble floors and magnificently landscaped grounds, is for many a desirable place to work. The time-off, include long winter and summer recesses, for example, help compensate for the wages. And for many, the opportunity to work in arguably the world’s most powerful legislative body is a huge stepping stone for future endeavors.
Read the rest of their “hardships” here.
DCG
