Sen. Bill Cassidy has a blunt message for leaders in Washington: Get over yourself!
Mr. Cassidy, Louisiana Republican, introduced legislation Friday that would ban taxpayer funds from being used for oil paintings of the president, vice president, cabinet officials or members of Congress.
Such official portraits, which Mr. Cassidy said cost between $20,000 and $40,000, are found throughout the White House, the Capitol and congressional committee rooms.
Striking at the heart of the issue, Mr. Cassidy dubbed his bill the Eliminating Government-Funded Oil-Painting or the EGO Act.
“When America is trillions of dollars in debt, we should take every reasonable measure to reduce the burden passed on to our children and grandchildren,” he said. “Tax dollars should go to building roads and improving schools — not oil paintings that very few people ever see or care about. Congress has passed the EGO Act before, let’s pass it again.”
Mr. Cassidy, who is newly elected to the Senate, introduced the same bill when he was a House member in 2013 and it was included in the omnibus spending bills for fiscal 2014 and 2015.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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