Government is shut down, but Congress keeps its gym open

{mosads}National Institutes of Health clinical trials are on hold; many Centers for Disease Control employees and Agriculture Department meat inspectors are off the job as a salmonella outbreak occurs; families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan aren’t getting money for funerals and expenses; and, of course, the usual: National Parks closed, contractors not getting paid, regular government work not getting done.

But most members of congress are collecting their paychecks, getting their benefits and, thank goodness, not denied their gym privileges, for which they pay the ungodly sum of $250 a year to use a pool, basketball court, and fitness equipment.

Trust me, this Hill story is going viral and will enrage the public.

My advice to the leadership in congress: Shut down the gym until the shutdown is over. Let them go to Sports Club/LA and pay for it.