6 congressmen live in house subsidized by religious group

Arizona Republic ^ | 4/21/03

[areafiftyone]

WASHINGTON - Six members of Congress live in a $1.1 million Capitol Hill townhouse that is subsidized by a secretive religious organization, tax records show.

The lawmakers, all Christians, pay low rent to live in the stately red brick, three-story house on C Street, two blocks from the Capitol. It is maintained by a group alternately known as the "Fellowship" and the "Foundation" that brings together world leaders and elected officials through religion.

[Osage Orange]

I'm of the opinion that much of Mr. Barry Lynn's "fruit" is rotten...therefore I think I "know" him.

Best FRegards,

[AnalogReigns]

fyi: A 1.1 Mil dollar townhouse on Capital Hill is probably less than 30 feet wide and maybe 3 floors tall--no palace by any means. 6 bedrooms in a place like that ain't living large at all.....in fact by most American's standards it would be slumming it--honest.

Real Estate prices in the nicer (safer)parts of DC are outrageous.

Take it from a DC area native.

[dogbyte12]

Congressional Housing. Problem solved. Cut their salaries to finance housing for congress critters. Security would be better, and no conflicts while they are in Washington.

If it's good enough for the military, it's good enough for congress.

[Sangamon Kid]

I believe this Harper's article sheds a little more light.

[Corin Stormhands]

I don't like any organization with national business being the landlords of congress critters.

The Fellowship doesn't have national business. The Fellowship is about following the cause of Christ and about ministering to those in leadership. There is NO political agenda. Unless you are familiar with those folks (as I am) it is difficult to understand.

For example, I am aware of a group of very prominent women (conservative Republican and liberal Democrat) who met on a regular basis for one purpose - to pray for Hillary Clinton. Granted they should've prayed harder, but that's another story.

Their husbands and sometimes they themselves were political adversaries. There was no agenda except for prayer.

That is the nature of the Fellowship. They are not influencing any political agenda through this house or through other means.

[VRWC_minion]

My concerns would be the same if they were like I said earlier, being put up in housing by IBM, UAW, NEA, AT&T, you name it.

Welcome to the real world. All of these companies undoubtedly have nonprofit's that they sponsor who do far more than provide rentals to congressmen.

As long as stuff is fully disclosed I really don't care.

[Corin Stormhands]

6 bedrooms in a place like that ain't living large at all.....

Agreed. I lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Arlington for 8 years. We couldn't afford the same on the hill.

[ztiworoh]

Yeah, I used to wrok in the Capitol Building on the House Floor, there are several members who live in their offices, I know for sure John Hostettler of Indiana does, they make $135,000 a year, and they have to maintain 2 households, have a decent wardrobe, and support their families, they don't live lavish lifestyles

[Mr. Bird]

Congressional Housing. Problem solved. Cut their salaries to finance housing for congress critters. Security would be better, and no conflicts while they are in Washington. If it's good enough for the military, it's good enough for congress.

Typically, military bases aren't located on such expensive real estate. But again, this is really a non-issue. Renting a home in the District is something nearly all members need to do. Restricting where or how they live would be like requiring them to drive the same type of car, or eat the same food. You don't want to disconnect them from the real world, like you do the military. You want them to deal with at least some of the every day nuances of being an American.

[Diddle E. Squat]

I say they all move out and rent market rate rooms from a building owned by the Masons. That'll stir the tinfoil pot...

[Amalie]

Housing for Congress - a great idea, but one that will never happen with all of these fat heads running around; besides, we would get soaked for the bill on that, too. No, Lynn once again is using the media bully pulpit to create anti-religious hysteria. The fact that Bush is a Christian scares these guys to death; they believe thier own PR about Christian abuses of power, wacky fundementalism, and religious wars. This will be another area under assault from the left throughout the next election cycle. Don't think conservatism has won already; this is LIFE OR DEATH on the Democrat side, and they are capable of anything to try to regain power.

[wideawake]

I don't have a link, because Rev. White and Barry Lynn are currently involved in a legal dispute over posting a transcript of the debate.

I'll sum it up for you: Barry Lynn verbally agreed to a public debate on homosexuality and Scripture with James White, whom he knew only as a small-town fundamental Christian preacher from the Southwest.

Lynn figured he had a uneducated rube on his hands and proceeded to use the standard liberal arguments: that St. Paul's letters were mistranslated, that they were taken out of context, that Leviticus can't be taken seriously and that the story of Sodom is about "hospitality."

Rev. White is well-trained in Biblical languages and very knowledgeable about the cultural context of ancient Israel and the Christian Near East. He caught Lynn in a series of embarrassing mistakes and contradictions which exposed Lynn as having no real knowledge of Scripture, exegesis, history or moral theology.

Lynn arrogantly came to the debate completely unprepared and had his clock thoroughly cleaned. As Lynn became shrill and frenzied, Rev. White remained calm and scholarly.

Afterward, Lynn threatened to sue Rev. White if he posted a transcript of their "private conversation" on the web - a "private conversation" which had taken place onstage in a Long island auditorium in front of 300-400 people!

Lynn retained a high-priced lawyer and the legal wrangling continues.

[George W. Bush]

Nice analysis, a good example of the best kind of posts, ones that contain factual analysis that probes beneath the surface to expose the liberal bias in the thread's article.

This is exactly what FR was established to accomplish. Excellent.

[Guyin4Os]

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion..."

How in the world does a congressman living in a church-owned apartment violate this? I suppose Barry Lynn would get all bent out of shape if he knew that congressmen actually brought their bibles to their offices. Gasp! They even pray!

Seriously here, Barry Lynn is having trouble even getting leftists to pay attention to him anymore.

[Illbay]

So when you join Congress, you are not allowed to associate with any religious group?

Not sure what this portends.

Barney Franks' townhouse played host to a homosexual prostitution business. Was that okay?

[sitetest]

Thanks.

[Alex Murphy]

...subsidized by a secretive religious organization...a group alternately known as the "Fellowship" and the "Foundation" that brings together world leaders and elected officials through religion....The Fellowship hosts receptions, luncheons and prayer meetings on the first two floors of the house, which is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a church....It organizes the annual National Prayer Breakfast attended by the president, members of Congress and dignitaries from around the world....

Oh yeah - sounds real secretive to me. So secretive, only about 99% of all Washington DC knows about it.

[BibChr]

Well, I'd certainly say that if Barry Lynn is a faithful steard of the mysteries of God, I am Martha Stewart.

Dan

[MississippiMan]

Good for them. I think it's great that Christians have a way to live with other Christians in the cesspool of Washington. Bound to be able to draw a lot of strength from that.

MM

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Didn't Barney Frank have to rent out some of his rooms a few years ago?

Barney Frank is known to rent out a lot of things, but I never heard it called a 'room'.