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 complaint 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.
- 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.
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outdated.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.
A few years ago, Congress trimmed the overall
spending it allocates for itself. This was an effort to “lead by
example.” Plus, it looked like good politics back home -- even if
constituents received less from the members they elected.
The cuts hit Capitol Hill hard -- putting a squeeze
on congressional salaries and the ability to retain good people. The
total reductions only amounted to $362 million. That’s a big impact
internally but barely a dent when the federal government inches close to
spending $4 trillion annually and runs a $19 trillion debt.
Legislative branch spending climbed to $4.36 billion
in the latest spending measure. That’s a $1.5 billion increase over the
previous year but still below what Congress allocated for Capitol Hill
operations seven years ago.
“It means having to let people go,” said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif.,
Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., told Plaster that “any
restoration” of money to the accounts lawmakers use to pay staff and run
their offices “would be helpful.”
Last year, the House switched vendors for dining
services in its cafeterias. The old vendor, Restaurant Associates, still
runs Senate eateries as well as those in the Capitol Visitor’s Center.
French food services provider Sodexo succeeded
Restaurant Associates in the House. That sparked an immediate outcry
from the Capitol Hill community. The food wasn’t as good. Prices were
higher. There wasn’t as much variety.
Wasserman Schultz said it was “pretty bad” when the
dining discord prompted an article late last year in the New York Times.
She also questioned how some lower-rung aides could survive while
paying them such paltry salaries.
“After paying for rent and eating in the House
cafeteria, we’re lucky we can keep anyone on staff,” she complained.
“It’s costing them an arm and a leg to eat.”
Clerk of the House Karen Haas told lawmakers the
electronic voting cards lawmakers use during roll call votes are so
outdated that an outside company makes them specifically for Congress.
She added that the voting system in the House chamber
needs rewiring soon -- a project which involves digging under the floor
of the chamber. Moreover, Haas said Braille type must be added to
voting stations sprinkled around the chamber for visually impaired
lawmakers.
Security has long been paramount on Capitol Hill.
But a lingering problem involves the risks terrorists
could pose to congressional garages across the street from the Capitol
beneath the House office buildings.
The garages are not what is known as “clean,” meaning
aides and lawmakers can drive in, then move into the office buildings
without ever clearing security.
Individuals entering on foot pass through
magnetometers. Inspecting every car and screening workers offsite would
create catastrophic delays and traffic jams around Capitol Hill.
So, the U.S. Capitol Police operates with a lower
level of security in the House office buildings. Persons going through
the underground tunnels to the Capitol itself from the office complex
are screened at checkpoints located there.
Of late, magnetometers recently showed up in the
Longworth garage in an effort to bolster security. But the Rayburn
garage still lacks the equipment.
At the hearing, Wasserman Schultz later took aim at
House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving. She suggested the appropriations
committee never signed off on implementing the additional security
measures. Other lawmakers see it differently, adding that the
Appropriations Committee, which controls the purse strings, in fact
allocated funds properly.
Wasserman Schultz hectored Irving with queries about
who gave him the go-ahead to install the magnetometers. Irving said he
took “responsibility,” later adding he did so in concert with the
Speaker’s Office and House Administration Committee.
“I don’t think I’m getting responses to my questions,” Wasserman Schultz protested, in apparent exasperation.
Irving said the House garages carry “tremendous vulnerabilities to us.”
Wasserman Schultz responded by saying that terrorists
weren’t stupid since the magnetometers were installed in only one
garage. She said terrorists would simply “go to the garage that’s not
secure.”
Sam Farr piped up. He suggested the extra screening was “an affront to staff.”
“We’re building an empire on the Hill,” he said.
The California Democrat then asked if Irving knew how
many lawmakers arm themselves when they walk through the Capitol. By
statute, lawmakers are allowed to pack heat at the Capitol and are not
required to go through security screening.
Staff and visitors cannot carry firearms at the Capitol complex.
“We don’t know that number,” Irving replied.
Farr argued it was a fairness issue and that
lawmakers shouldn’t be allowed to carry guns at work -- especially if
they were trying to “lead by example.”
There also concern the Capitol could join the long
list of venues that have experienced deadly, workplace violence -- just
like Fort Hood, the Washington Navy Yard and San Bernardino.
Under such a nightmare scenario, there are questions
as to whether lawmakers carrying their own guns could make a nightmarish
shootout even more volatile if they started to fire their own weapons
-- in addition to U.S. Capitol Police officers. Would extra firepower
help neutralize a situation or contribute to “friendly fire” injuries or
deaths?
Physical security isn’t the only concern at the Capitol. So too is cybersecurity.
Plaster told lawmakers that hackers pose a constant threat.
“They’re not knocking at the front door anymore,” he said.
Plaster says that the House has about 12,000 people
on its network, receiving some 200 million emails a year. He estimates
that about one-third of all email traffic received is an effort to bore
into the House computer system.
And with so many emails and so many users, it’s challenging to harden those defenses.
So if you want to understand Congress and its
internal operations, look at Legislative Branch appropriations. That
could shed light into how lawmakers tackle issues ranging from ISIS to
health care to the economy. It also says a lot about what it’s like to
work on Capitol Hill.
Hardly a week goes by without a report demonstrating that Congressional approval ratings are in the tank.
Those are polls that study the performance of
lawmakers. And one wonders if aides who toil on Capitol Hill would rate
Congress much higher.
