Making It Easier for the Less Wealthy to Serve in Congress
Plus: What Linda Chavez Saw at the Southern Border
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JOHN D. RACKEY AND DANIEL SCHUMAN: Making It Easier for the Less Wealthy to Serve in Congress.
Gregg Harper quit his government job because he couldnāt afford to provide for his adult son, who has Fragile X Syndrome. In an unusual twist, he was a member of Congress. In fact, all members of Congress have seen their effective paycheck shrink over the years. Members of Congress are often thought of as wealthyāand many of them are. But scores of them have an average net worth below that of the median American household of $121,700. According to OpenSecrets, Harperās last reported net worth was in the negative by $365,001.
It is hard for people of modest backgrounds to afford to serve in Congress. Washington, D.C.ās housing and food expenses are among the highest in the country. When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first arrived in 2018, she couldnāt afford an apartment because she wasnāt wealthy, hadnāt yet received a paycheck, and, as required by law, maintained a residence back in New York. Rep. Maxwell Frost, who started his freshman term in January, was denied an apartment because he had bad credit. While both these representatives did manage to obtain their own housing, nearly one hundred members of Congress sleep in their offices.
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LINDA CHAVEZ: What I Saw at the Southern Border.
From the outside, Casa Alitas Drexel Center for Migrants is not the most inviting structure. Surrounded by tall metal fencing in an industrial area off Interstate 19 southwest of Tucson, the large cinderblock building sits on stark desert land with the sun beating down mercilessly even in late spring. Spacious white tents at the back of the building are filled with folding chairs and tables at the front have water dispensers for the 500 or so men who are off-loaded from Customs and Border Protection buses each day. Casa Alitas is operated as a joint program by Pima County and Catholic Community Services to give temporary shelter to those who claim asylum in the United States or are otherwise released by border patrol after being processed. Families end up at a separate Casa Alitas facility near the courthouse in Tucson, while single men stay at the Drexel location.
FROM THE BULWARK ARCHIVESšļø:
Amanda called it last January, and today, the DOJ went 4/5 on the sedition charges it brought against leaders of the Proud Boys. āSounds like sedition, all rightā Amanda concluded. Stand back and stand byā¦ for sedition, guilty as charged.
šØOVERTIMEšØ
Happy Thursday! Hope youāll come get smart tonight with Amb. Eric Edelman on Thursday Night Bulwark. I am on every TNB because I have toāI wish Zoom would fix the chat settings, too!ābut if I didnāt have to be, I would tonight because Amb. Edelman is one of my favorite guests and contributors. Be there or be square. Itās not every day you can get an update from a two-time U.S. Ambassador and Undersecretary of Defense and ask questions. (Unless you enroll at Johns Hopkins.)
Tick, tockā¦ We may have until the end of the month regarding the debt limit, but we have even fewer legislative days.
Texas braces for brownouts. The Lone Star electrical grid state might have a stinky summer.
Making matters worseā¦ FEMA is shorthanded.
Speaking of powerā¦ Take a trip inside an abandoned GE high voltage lab.
Let them eat cake? Gov. DeSantisās front-desk operation needs some optics training, unless they were going for this. Which, to be fair, they might have been.
Meanwhile, in Saint Louisā¦ The city prosecutorās office continued to lose people, and as a result, cases. Thankfully, she is resigning. š
ā¦ and in North Carolinaā¦ The GOP frontrunner for governor was discovered to have mocked school shooting survivors and justified shooting protesters.
Theyāre not literally his childrenā¦ With all of the chaff being thrown up today to defend Clarence Thomas, Iām reminded of The Big Lebowski.
While losing candidate Kari Lake toured Hungary with the Orban curious CPAC crowdā¦ Her lawyer was sanctioned for making false statements to the court.
Getting a dog is always a good ideaā¦ Ben Dreyfuss on how his pandemic pup helped him to learn to accept being loved.
DeSantis backersā¦ Are trying to push out Glenn Youngkin, arguing the timing doesnāt add up for him to make the ballot.
For a laughā¦ Hereās Ted Cruz telling a reporter that his podcast is a ācriticalā part of being a good Senator, a job he clearly has little interest in.
Beholdā¦ The power of bees.
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