Members of Congress benefit in many ways from belonging to a select group. They have access to private Capitol Hill gymnasium facilities; get low cost haircuts; receive free, close-in parking at the National and Dulles Airports near Washington; and get six free parking spaces per member in Capitol Hill garages—plus one free outdoor Capitol parking slot. They also avoid parking tickets because
of their congressional license plates and, until 1994, were not required to comply with most labor laws in dealing with their staffs. They eat in a subsidized dining room and enjoy free plants from the Botanical Gardens for their offices, free medical care, an inexpensive but generous pension plan, liberal travel allowances, and special tax considerations. Members of Congress are also granted generous franking privileges that permit them to mail newsletters, surveys, and other letters to their constituents. The annual cost of congressional mail has risen from $11 million in 1971 to almost $60 million today. Typically, the costs for these mailings rise enormously during election years. Congresspersons have the assistance of permanent professional staffs. More than 35,000 people are employed in the Capitol Hill bureaucracy. About half of this total consists of personal and committee staff members. The personal staff includes office clerks and secretaries; professionals who deal with media relations, draft legislation, and satisfy constituency requests for services; and staffers who maintain local offices in the member's home district or state. Congress also benefits from the expertise of the professional staffs of agencies that were created to produce information for members of the House and Senate. For example, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a section of the Library of Congress, furnishes a computer-based record of contents and current legislative status of major bills that are under consideration. This record can be reviewed by staff members using computer terminals available in most offices. In the second paragraph, the word constituents mean?
a. employees
b. enemies
c. supporters
d. helpers
C
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