IDEA:
CREATE VIRTUAL CONGRESS TO STOP WITH BUSINESS AS USUAL WITH TELECOMMUTING PLAN
Close Capitol Staff Buildings and other government properties in DC. Monies generated from sale and eliminated maintenance designated to national treasury.
DONATE Capitol Bldg to Smithsonian to be used only for Inauguration, State of the Union or to declare war.
Mandate agencies be combined in 2 office buildings with other unused properties sold or developed to be used: house homeless veterans, retirement or skilled care condominiums or federally subsidized housing for welfare recipients and enlarge Arlington Cemetery.
NOTE: Federal agencies own nearly half a million buildings, occupying 3.3 billion square feet. “The buildings alone represent enough space to fit 1.4 million average-sized new American homes.A 2009 government report by the Federal Real Property Council indicates that the agencies themselves don’t even know how to use that much space. Of the 429,000 federal buildings, about 11 percent were underutilized in 2009. The definition for under-utilization varies by building type, but the data indicates that 15 percent to 50 percent of the underutilized buildings’ capacity is simply not being used. Even more egregious, about 2.4 percent of federal buildings — more than 10,000 — are designated as excess buildings, which means they have been “formally identified as having no further program use.”
FEDERAL WASTE: buildings generate real operation and maintenance costs. In 2009 alone, the cost of maintaining federal excess buildings was $134 million, and the operating cost of underutilized buildings was $1.7 billion. The additional waste associated with the unused capacity of underutilized buildings is between $250 and $830 million YEARLY!
https://www.aei.org/publication/the-governments-property-bloat/
COLLATERAL SAVINGS:
1. Little to no transportation per Representative/Senator.
2. Hold town hall meetings every Monday throughout own state.
3. Use of electronic communication for voting, committee meetings, etc. open to Sunshine Laws
4. No need for Senator & Representative duplication of housing, offices, staff
5. More environmental ‘friendly’ reducing: paper waste, reduction electricity,
6. Eliminate Congressional travel expense.
7. One-Third of Federal Government less vulnerable to Washington D.C. terrorist attack
POLITICAL BENEFITS:
1. Reduce lobbyists control over government
2. Representatives/Senators more responsive to their constituents
3. Increase accountability while reducing moral temptations for Representatives/Senators
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/289947-republican-proposes-letting-lawmakers-work-from-home
In an odd way I kind of like this. Take them out of the swamp they might become human beings again. They might actually listen to constituents. The lobbyists will have a looser grip, and parties would be less relevant.
This is a great idea!
But, the Left will not agree. The Left are notorious for being group, tribal people.
One of the things I admire about conservatives is their standard of individualism. The Left does not believe in thinking and then performing as ONE person.
They behave in “packs,” never alone, always with the blanket security of more than person. That’s why they are truly pathetic.
If they had to think and work alone...they would not survive.
I have posted many times to say that this should be how Congress operates, but I had no idea that it had already been proposed.
Stockholm syndrome is such a huge problem—it may be the primary reason we have so many rinos. In addition, we cannot know who is susceptible to Stockholm syndrome before electing them. If they would telework from their home districts, they would be somewhat insulated from developing Stockholm syndrome. Furthermore, with today’s technology, there is no reason to keep them in DC.
Because they don’t spend enough time not working...
Opens the door for some really creative hacking ...
I’d like to see Congress and federal agencies split up among the 50 states. Put the Congresscritters back in their home districts. Put the EPA in hundreds of (better, shrink EPA and put it in a half dozen) farm communities where they see the harm their excesses inflict. Put every federal agency in our small towns, where they cannot succumb to Stockholm Syndrome.
Our three wealthiest counties are:
1 Loudoun County, Virginia $134,464
2 Howard County, Maryland $120,941
3 Fairfax County, Virginia $115,717
(Numbers are median household incomes)
Those counties got there by leeching off our tax dollars. The solution is to put the people who spend those tax dollars in the middle of those who pay, instead of surrounding them with those who benefit from FedGov bloat.
I don’t like it, but for probably different reasons than many might.
On one hand, I fully agree with many that taking them out of Washington DC is a positive thing, and might save a certain amount of money.
But as someone who takes part in a lot of teleconferences, I find them to be useless from a perspective (not in all cases) for getting meaningful things done. I may be old school, but the demise of face-to-face meetings with whiteboards is not a postive thing, unless you are a fringe person who isn’t going to be much involved anyway.
I want to keep these people in each others faces and make it as uncomfortable and as inconvenient as possible to make them get things done.
That said, they don’t get anything done anyway for the most part, so...I guess it doesn’t make much difference in the long run.
This should not happen. This leaves a larger door for corruption.
I think the state of Alaska has been doing this for many years.
I say NO !!!
The less time they “spend” thinking about ways to SCREW AMERICA the better.
Make the POS/SOB’s DRIVE from home to DC so the real life experiences for them can occur, just like real life. Get Gas, check oil and Tyres, use a Public Toilet, Etc...
IF they can handle that task (without a Driver, they must drive themselves) they must then check into a reasonable priced Hotel, Check in, tote their own baggage and park the car. Get up in the morning and go to the Breakfast Room, MAKE their own food, clean up the table and get their crap packed up and then haul it to the car, load it up and check themselves out.
AND KEEP ON DRIVING!!!
Let them get a taste of Rush hour, STOP Signs, Traffic Lights and Yield Signs all on their way.
Give them a taste of the REAL WORLD!!!
pelousy and upchuck wouldn’t make 5 miles on their own.
And toss in a few Moving Violations too so they get the whole experience of Life in FLYOVER Country.
NO.
Annnnnnd when it’s hacked?
Wasn’t it the original intent of our Founders that Congress only convene in the Capital occasionally? I believe they thought representatives should live among their constituents to keep them in check.
Have Congress operate through Twitter. It would be a lot more amusing.