Speier: Forbid lawmakers from sleeping in offices

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jackie Speier says it’s time to ban members of Congress from sleeping in their offices, saying buildings on Capitol Hill are not designed to be “homeless shelters” for lawmakers.

Although the San Mateo Democrat has long opposed the practice, she said in a letter to the architect of the Capitol and attending physician of Congress released Monday that the coronavirus heightens the need to end it for good.

Speier has been a leader in the effort to enact sexual harassment protections in Congress, and notes that lawmakers living in their offices can cause problems if staffers “come to work early and stumble upon the member in pajamas or getting dressed.” Such allegations were partly behind the resignation in 2017 of the late Michigan Rep. John Conyers, who faced several sexual harassment accusations.

Speier said her letter was especially motivated by reports that 17 construction workers in a House office building and 12 Capitol Police officers have tested positive for the coronavirus. Lawmakers were not informed of the positive tests before being brought back to Washington last month for a vote on coronavirusrelief money, Speier said.

“If Members slept in their offices during this time, they likely had a greater chance of exposure and exacerbated the public health risk of coronavirus,” Speier wrote. “This is reason enough for the (architect of the Capitol) to review its existing health and safety policies.”

There’s no formal count of how many lawmakers essentially live in their offices, but Speier estimated the total is 50 to 100.

The cost of living in Washington, D.C., is higher than in many American cities, and some members who spend weekdays in Washington room together or live in their offices while using the House gym for showers as a way to save money. Former

House Speaker Paul Ryan, RWis., did so, as has House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield. A member of Congress makes $174,000 per year.

McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry about his current living arrangements. But in an interview with Politico on Monday, McCarthy discussed possible precautions that could accommodate members sleeping in their offices during the pandemic, without touching on his own situation.

“When you’re dealing with living in offices, if they’re going to be in the office themselves, I think you probably have to change the aspect of the number of staff that can come in,” McCarthy said. “You’re going to have to deal with much fewer staff, or I’m not sure you’re going to have that many at all.”

Calling office living “unprofessional, unhygienic, and even unethical,” Speier said the additional public health threat from the coronavirus means it’s time to end it permanently.

“House offices were never intended to become homeless shelters for Members, and it is high time we stop tolerating the practice,” Speier wrote.