Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) has introduced a bill that would prohibit members of Congress from flying first class at taxpayers’ expense, a perk under increased scrutiny during the partial federal government shutdown.
The senior Republican on a subcommittee that overseas the Navy fleet, Wittman said he flies coach on government business because that’s how servicemen and women get to their duty stations.
“I don’t think [flying first class] sets the right example,” he said in an interview. “I think members of Congress ought to be held to the same standard as others flying on government business.”
As Transportation Security Administration workers toil without pay, at least one lawmaker enjoyed luxury air travel for official business.
On a flight Tuesday from Chicago to Washington, a fellow passenger asked Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) why he was flying first class while TSA agents worked without pay, according to video of the exchange.
It turns out Davis was automatically upgraded at no additional cost to taxpayers, but the exchange went viral, highlighting tensions over the shutdown as it stretches into a second month.
“Congressman Davis has never purchased a first-class flight using taxpayer dollars and he has voted numerous times to ensure our TSA agents are paid,” Davis spokeswoman Ashley Phelps said in a statement.
Wittman, who is in his sixth full term, had planned to fly to the Gulf Coast this week with the chair of the House Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and projection forces, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), to visit shipbuilders.
Then President Trump canceled members’ domestic and foreign trips — a decision Wittman supports.
“I think it’s right,” he said. “I don’t think members of Congress should be traveling. They should be in Washington getting things done.”
Wittman also introduced a bill that would turn a future shutdown upside-down, ensuring that federal workers would get paid, but members of Congress would not.
He is one of dozens of lawmakers forgoing their salaries during the shutdown and plans to donate his pay to charity when the government reopens.
His district, which stretches from Prince William and Fauquier counties to Hampton Roads, is home to more than 46,900 federal workers, according to census data.
