Revealed: What Yer Congressman Is Driving—And What Yer Paying For It

Doug Mataconis at Below the Beltway reports on a really annoying Congressional perk: Representatives get to lease cars on the public dime, including high-end, pricey SUVs and luxury numbers.

From a Detroit Free Press account he links to:

Some members of Congress use their office budgets to lease Lexuses, an Infiniti, even a BMW 530i, which one auto critic called "one of the world's best sport-luxury sedans." The lease prices of some cars topped $1,000 a month…

Members of Congress could lease less expensive—and less flashy—cars through the General Services Administration, the federal government's purchasing agency, which negotiates bulk lease prices for the federal government.

SUVs can be leased through the GSA for as little as $300 a month, according to the GSA Web site. Four-door, midsize sedans cost $258 a month or $3,096 a year….But spokespeople for several lawmakers said they were unfamiliar with the GSA program or thought that Congress wasn't eligible.

For a list of congressmen who leased cars with public money (and for how much), go here.