Congress Changes Reimbursements For Members

Under new rules, members of Congress will now be reimbursed for some meals and the cost of renting a home in Washington. Congressman Blaine Leutkemeyer told listeners on KWIX last week there were some concerns in Congress about how members have afforded running their offices.

He says this will be better for taxpayers, too.

The amounts that lawmakers get for expenses vary based on things like whether they represent a large, rural district or small, urban one; what part of the country it is in, and how long the member has been in Congress. Anything that isn’t used goes back to the Treasury. Politico reports lawmakers looked at various reimbursement models used by a number of state legislatures before approving the new plan.