O’Neill calls on LaTourette to stop billing taxpayers for his car, gas
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (June 2, 2008) - Democratic congressional candidate Bill O’Neill called on Rep. Steve LaTourette today to stop driving on the taxpayers’ dime, in response to a Plain Dealer report this morning. The paper reported that LaTourette is among the few in Congress who take advantage of a perk that reimburses members of Congress for their car expenses – from oil changes to monthly payments to the cost of gas.
“How can Steve LaTourette possibly understand the pain we’re feeling at the pump these days when his fill-up is on the American taxpayers?” O’Neill said. “At a time when so many of his constituents are having trouble stretching their family budgets because gas prices are skyrocketing, it’s yet another example of our congressman being out of touch with the real needs and concerns of Northeast Ohioans.”
“Steve LaTourette should start paying for his own car like the rest of us,” he said. “Let’s end the free ride once and for all.”
The Plain Dealer report noted that fewer than one in three Members of Congress (30%) allow taxpayers to pay for their cars. Fewer still bill taxpayers for their car payments and their gas payments, as LaTourette does.
O’Neill said that, as a member of Congress, he would not bill taxpayers for his car or his gasoline. He campaigned last week at a gas station in Wickliffe, where he discounted people’s fill-ups by $1.13, the cost of gas when LaTourette first went to Congress. O’Neill also criticized LaTourette for the campaign funds he has received from oil and energy companies and his consistent votes in their favor – even as they are making record profits and consumers are paying record prices.
“What I’m hearing from voters is that they don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, as long as you’re doing something about these gas prices, and they can see pretty clearly that Steve LaTourette doesn’t have any intention of fighting for them on this,” O’Neill said. “I guess if I wasn’t paying to drive my car, it wouldn’t be the first thing on my mind either.”
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