Making Members Of Congress Fly Coach Doesn’t Exactly Level The Flying Field

A proposal from a group of House members — two Republicans, two Democrats — aims to cut the federal budget by forcing elected officials to fly coach. This would save money, although it's not clear how much. It would not, however, make members of Congress suffer through flights the way everyone else does.

The measure from Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), John Barrow (D-Ga.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), and Raul Ruiz (D-Ca.) is captured entirely in its evocative title: the "If Our Military Has to Fly Coach Then so Should Congress Act of 2014." Instead of always flying members of the military first class, which would also have solved that problem, the representatives decided to bar members of Congress from using any seats besides those in coach. Or, more accurately, the cheapest fare possible. No extra leg room, apparently — although exceptions may be made for medical conditions. (Point of personal editorial privilege: as a tall person, being tall should count in this case.)

How much this would save the government isn't clear. Gosar's press release mentions the size of the national debt twice but doesn't include how much the measure is expected to save. (A request made to his office for that information wasn't answered by the time this article was published.)

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