Congress’ Most-Driven Lawmakers
Rep. Rob Wittman wants you to know that he’s cheap.
The Virginia Republican tweeted this evening that he drives a really old car, and he’s proud of it.
“Folks, my 2005 Toyota Corolla passed 300,000 miles last week and it’s still running strong. Hope to see you around America’s First District!”
(Wittman’s district includes Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the U.S., hence the grandiose nickname.)
We at Heard on the Hill were curious whether anyone else in Congress had more miles on their drive, so we did some checking. What we found was that a lot of lawmakers make lame odometer jokes about the federal deficit.
We also found these contenders for most-driven lawmakers:
* Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has several Buicks, the oldest of which has 300,000 miles on its odometer, according to a June 2011 profile.
* Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) had 199,467 miles on his fabled pickup truck, at least according to a 2010 TV ad.
* Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) drives a 2003 Audi with 149,000 miles on its odometer, according to a December news blurb.
* Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said he spends most of his time in Indiana “and I’ve got the odometer to prove it,” but he didn’t cite any odometer readings, according to a November 2011 story.
OK, Members of Congress, can you top that? (And Rep. Pence, care to elaborate?) We await your replies. You know where to find us.