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http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/10/08/2753831/congressmen-pressure-gym-closure/
Members of Congress are circulating letters calling on House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to close the members-only gym as long as the shutdown continues.
As ThinkProgress reported Tuesday, the shutdown closed the Congressional staff gym, but, thanks to Boehner’s office, the members’ gym has remained open through the shutdown. After uproar over the still-running gym, a spokesperson for the Architect of the Capitol explained in an email to ThinkProgress, “The decision not to lock Members out was made because they keep personal items there, but Members have been made aware that the facility will be unstaffed until the government reopens, as its employees are paid with appropriated funds, which are unavailable during the shutdown.” According to a House aide, the gym is being cleaned daily by maintenance staff and, of course, it costs money to heat the pool and keep the lights on.
Rep. Earl Blumenthauer (D-OR) sent an email asking his colleagues to sign on to a letter telling Boehner to close the gym, as “it is hard to rationalize the gym rises above other important services that are closed.”