Einan blog

Members-elect plan to sleep in their D.C. offices

Many of Congress' incoming freshmen are not searching for a place in D.C. to call home -- 15 percent plan to sleep in their Capitol Hill offices and never find a residence,љ .

In the mid-'80s, bedding down on the Hill was discouraged because it mixed business with personal life. But that changed with the 1994 Republican-wave election. Speaker Newt Gingrich blessed the practice, and it grew in popularity.

So why do they do it? Washington is an expensive city for real estate, so fiscally conservative members argue that the decision saves money. Other lawmakers sleep in their offices because they feel it maintains their outsider status. And some members say it's just the most practical choice since their lives revolve around the Hill.

(AP video still: Rep. Jason Chaffetz displays his office cot)