Newsmax.com reported today that "MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell Wednesday accused Rep. Jason Chaffetz of being a "tax criminal" because he sleeps in his office several days a week, and does not declare the Longworth House Office Building his residence on his IRS returns."
This is about the dumbest thing I have read in a long time, only it gets worse.
The article reports:
"Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchdog group, last week asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether congressmen who sleep in their offices are violating tax law by failing to report lodging as a taxable fringe benefit.
"Congressmen from both parties who sleep in their offices have also been accused of costing taxpayers money, by using extra electricity and water."
The current salary (2011) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year. That sounds like an awful lot of money until you begin to consider the cost of maintaining two households (consider Washington rental costs) and traveling back and forth between Washington and your district on a regular basis.
Mr. O'Donnell stated that in his opinion Representative Chaffetz was illegally living in a federal building. He also stated that Representative Chaffetz should declare what he saves by sleeping in his office as income. Didn't he already declare it as income when he was paid it as salary?
As federal budget deficits spiral out of control, why in the world is the mainstream media worrying about whether or not a congressman sleeps in his office?
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