Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) submitted a request to the Committee on Appropriations prohibiting members of Congress from flying first class "on the taxpayer's dime," according to a Friday press release.
"Members of Congress are servants of the people and should not be considered a privileged class," Gosar wrote in his request, which he filed on Tuesday. "Luxury airfare accommodations utilizing taxpayer monies would seem inappropriate in any fiscal climate but at a time of soaring deficits and with a federal debt in excess of $17 trillion such expenditures are especially wasteful."
In addition to their $174,000 salaries, members of Congress are also allotted a representational allowance, which enables them to use taxpayer money on travel expenses.
The provision, which Gosar seeks to tack onto the Fiscal Year 2015 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, contends that the same federal restrictions banning members of the military from first-class travel should apply to congressional lawmakers.
Reps. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) and Walt Jones (R-N.C.) also co-signed the initiative.
All together, Gosar advanced five requests this week addressing ways to eliminate bureaucratic waste and fraud. Another proposal he submitted on Tuesday seeks to ban senior executives at the Department of Veterans Affairs from receiving bonuses.
"We ask that you utilize fiscal prudence, prioritize resources towards reducing the backlog, and not reward under-performing bureaucrats," Gosar wrote.
Gosar was joined on this effort by House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), along with several other lawmakers.
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