Support the No Congressional Vehicle Leases Act, H.R. 4510

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the No Congressional Vehicle Leases Act, H.R. 4510, introduced by Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa). The bill would prohibit the use of congressional funds to pay for long-term or expensive vehicle leases for members of Congress.

Members of Congress are elected by their constituents to serve the public, not to personally profit from abuse of power. It is understandable that when a member of Congress travels, he or she might need to rent a car for the period of his or her trip. However, using taxpayer dollars to lease expensive luxury vehicles is both irresponsible and unnecessary.

Rep. Blum introduced an amendment to insert this same common-sense language into an appropriations bill, H.R.3219, earlier this year. Although the amendment was not added to the final language that passed the House, Rep. Blum’s statement at the time on the virtues of this measure holds true:

“Americans’ hard earned tax dollars shouldn’t go towards paying for politicians to…lease personal luxury vehicles… [M]embers of Congress can spend up to $1,000 of tax dollars a month leasing a luxury vehicle of their choice. This is ridiculous and needs to stop now. Being in Congress should be about public service, not enjoying perks funded by Americans’ taxes.”

FreedomWorks agrees fully with Rep. Blum’s assessment of members’ abuse of taxpayer money for personal gain, and applauds his continuing efforts to hold members fiscally and ethically accountable. The No Congressional Vehicle Leases Act is a common-sense measure to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to benefit constituents, not on personal luxuries for members. For these reasons, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the No Congressional Vehicle Leases Act, H.R. 4510.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon President, FreedomWorks