Packard Panel Votes to End Free Car Washes, Other Perks : Revenue: With budget trims in mind, a subcommittee led by the Oceanside Republican says members of Congress should begin to pay for many of their benefits.

Hard budget times hit Capitol Hill on Thursday when a subcommittee led by Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) voted to terminate free car washes, cheap haircuts and other perks enjoyed by members of Congress and the public.

*

As a first strike toward achieving the Republican goal of balancing the budget, the legislative branch subcommittee agreed to slash $154.9 million from the nearly $1.9-billion level it had passed last year.

In many cases, members will be asked to shell out money for what were free services or pay more for low-cost services.

Constituents also will feel the pinch. Popular souvenir flags flown over the Capitol for a few seconds, and sold at low cost, will not be provided by Congress. The U.S. Capitol Historical Society may continue the program, but the flags will likely cost more. And free commemorative calendars will be gone.

Some of the savings will go toward launching Congress into cyberspace. Library of Congress materials will go on-line to encourage both the public and lawmakers to access the information via computer, Packard said.

With the Republican-led Congress in a budget-cutting frenzy, Packard was forced to be more than just the perk police. Democrats on the panel protested little.

“I really wanted to make Congress work better at less cost,” Packard said. “We de-funded some items to look toward privatizing them, eliminated others [that] were redundant, reduced others [that] were bloated and added some innovative things.”

Packard’s proposals must be approved by the House Appropriations Committee and the full House. The Senate is expected to add more cuts to bring the total reduction to about $200 million.

Packard also proposed ending subsidies for beauty and barber salons, which offer $10 haircuts, and the radio and television studios that Congress members frequent to record interviews and other programs. Now, lawmakers will have to pay a fee each time they use the studio.

The bill would cease daily printing of 13,405 copies of the Congressional Record, the diary of floor debates and votes. And members will no longer receive free gold-embossed copies of the 55-volume U.S. Code, which cost more than $2,500 each.

Most of the savings would come from eliminating 2,350 employees in the House and other agencies, including 833 committee staffers. The Office of Technology Assessment, which produced analyses of scientific legislation but was often too late to have an impact, would be wiped out.