Having served in the State House of Representatives, as opposed to the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., I usually limit my editorials to state politics rather than national politics. But I cannot stay silent about the most recent piece of legislation to come out of the national Congress.
Most of what’s in that bill is good. There’s a lot of help for families that are struggling to get by during these difficult times; help that is essential for those who get paid by the hour.
But hidden within that $2 trillion bill is a $25 million line item for Congress. No, it’s not a pay raise for congressman. But it’s almost just as bad.
The majority of that $25 million is so our congressmen can buy new laptops, technology for video town halls and tech support to help them with their new toys.
It’s deeply disturbing that our representatives in Washington, D.C., including our own congressman, Robert Aderholt, would include such a blatant slush fund in a piece of legislation that is otherwise a good and desperately needed bill.
First, I find it hard to believe that our congressmen don’t already have laptops provided by the taxpayers. And even if they don’t, congressmen get paid $174,000 a year for their service in Congress (and most also own their own businesses or make millions of dollars playing the stock market).
So if they need a new laptop so badly why can’t they just go buy one with the money we are already giving them? You can buy a laptop for $230 at Best Buy. But a congressman with a $174,000 a year salary can’t afford to order one on his or her taxpayer-funded salary?
As bad as that is, though, what’s worse is the money being spent for technology for video town halls.
For one thing, a town hall is as much as political event as it is a public service event. It’s an opportunity for elected officials to talk with the voters, and therefore it as much a campaign expense as it is a public policy one.
And what about candidates running against sitting congressmen or candidates running for “open” seats where the current congressman is retiring? They aren’t getting the benefit of a taxpayer-funded video camera and computer software so that they can talk to voters during this time where people are staying home as much as possible.
At the very least, spending money for town hall equipment and software just doesn’t pass the smell test. At worst, it’s a taxpayer-funded campaign donation that won’t get reported and only helps those who are already in congress.
And at a time like this, our congressmen need to be talking to everyone, not just those who they choose to allow to participate in a video town hall (the benefit of a video town hall is that you can mute people and only allow those who are asking pre-approved questions to speak).
Any information our congressmen have to share with us regarding the coronavirus or anything else should be shared through the normal public channels so that everyone can hear it. And our tax dollars shouldn’t be going to technology that allows congressmen to dodge the tough questions.
I expect better than this from Congressman Aderholt and the other members of Congress. I encourage him to refuse to accept any new technology funded with this $25 million and, instead, insist that that money be donated to a hospital in our district to help fund medical supplies.
Congress should not use this national disaster as an excuse to buy themselves new laptops and free technology to benefit their political careers. Every dollar should go toward helping fight this virus and supporting hardworking families that are struggling to survive during this crisis.
Craig Ford is the owner of Hodges-Ford Insurance and the Gadsden Messenger. He represented Gadsden and Etowah County in the Alabama House of Representatives for 18 years.
