WASHINGTON INSIGHT

JUST PLAIN JANE: Rookie Rep. Jane Harman (D-Marina del Rey) says she is carrying out a campaign commitment to “clean House” by refusing a bevy of congressional perks and limiting her office staff to 75% of that allowed. . . . She’s not joining the House gym, not borrowing plants from the Botanical Garden and not accepting loans of paintings from the National Gallery of Art. She’s also rejecting a $29,000 pay raise enacted last year. Of course, she can afford to as one of Congress’ best-heeled members. Incidentally, Harman’s limit on the size of her staff is no big deal; most of her colleagues have similar arrangements. That is the only way they can pay workers a decent sum under the overall salary cap imposed on each House office.