Ethics Watchdog Targets Congressional Sleepovers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Saying Capitol Hill "is not a frat house," a Washington watchdog group is asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether lawmakers who sleep in their offices are breaking congressional rules and getting an unfair tax break by making personal use of public facilities.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — or CREW — says getting a free place to sleep is a taxable benefit that lawmakers should be reporting to the IRS. The group says House rules prohibit using taxpayer resources for anything but official purposes.

CREW cited media reports that more than 30 lawmakers are currently sleeping in their offices. The practice is nothing new. Lawmakers have for years slept on Capitol Hill to avoid paying expensive Washington rents and to show constituents they're frugal.