Question D

[Jonetta]

Turns out that Senator Lightfeather lives in his office when he’s in Washington in order to save money and not have to fund two residences. Did that come as a surprise or had you heard of this in real life?

[Anita]

I wasn't surprised. I don't remember where I had heard of this before, but I knew it happened. It's expensive in Washington DC and having a large family back home I can see why he did it.

[Charlene]

I think I have heard the same kind of thing, but I do think it would be very difficult to manage properly.

[Robin]

I'm not surprised. Some congressman was on tv this week complaining that they don't make enough ($174,000) to afford housing. Yes, Washington DC is expensive, but there are a heck of a lot of people there who don't earn that kind of money. Those people also don't get all the perks like free haircuts, free parking, and a huge expense account. If they can't afford it, they need to find some cheap housing while they're in DC or live in the office.

[Lauren]

I wasn't surprised either. It is the same in many countries where politicians cannot afford to keep two homes nor live in an expensive city like the capital.

[Sharon]

It didn't surprise me. I worked for Karen Davis years ago, she was the Under Secretary of Heath in the Carter administration. I learned a lot about the underbelly of federal politics.

[Jonetta]

I lived in the metropolitan area for almost 20 years and can attest that it’s very expensive. Elected officials in Congress have to support two residences: one at home and one when they’re in session in DC. Many of them share housing, seriously minimizing the cost but I’ve know of some who bunked out in their office, especially if they had a good one. No surprise at all.