Accountability

I sent the Senators Baucus, Rockefeller, Conrad, Jeffords, Bingaman, Snowe, and Crapo an email detailing my concerns laid out in this post. Here's my email:

Dear Senator [name]:

I was wondering if you would care to comment on a recent report in the Kansas City Star that you are receiving the homestead deduction normally reserved for those whose primary residence is in the District.

Since I would think that your primary residence is in your home state home of [state], you would seem ineligible.

Furthermore, as a worker in the nonprofit sector, I was wondering how you see this perceived oversight in light of your work on the Senate Finance Committee to root out just this sort of abuse.

As with several of your colleagues, I am certain that this is a mistake and that there is an explanation. As a concerned citizen, I would simply like to know what that is.

Sincerely,

[my name]

It looks as though I'm going to have to call them, however, because the Senators are bombarded with so much email that they'll only answer to their constituents. In this case, I hope they'll make an exception. It's simply irritating that despite setting policy that affects a Virginian like me and taking a tax deduction that affects District-dwellers, Senator Snowe will only send a written response to someone in Maine.

That's the funny thing about representation based on geography: Senators are accountable to their constituencies but not necessarily to the people their decisions will affect.