UPDATE: On October 27, 2008 the petition was delivered to the Chief Administrative Officer, Dan Beard. Thank you to all 227 people who signed the petition!
UPDATE: On October 23, 2008, The Hill newspaper ran this column. In it, CAO spokesman Jeff Ventura makes the followingridiculous claim: "I think American taxpayers would find it deeply troubling that, in this economy, a small group of Hill staffers feel they are entitled to receive a special, taxpayer-subsidized exemption from the food price increases every hardworking American family is now struggling with."
Zing! It must be nice for the CAO to have a guy who just sits around thinking of ways to make Hill staff look bad to the American people while getting paid by the House. Of course, Jeff knows that this price hike is also hitting tens of thousands of Americans who visit the Capitol every week without the benefit of Jeff's fantastic government salary. He's just being dismissive of our argument that the price hike is driven not by the actual market, but by a fabricated economy driven by his own office's insistence that the cafeteria must invest hundreds of thousands of tax dollars in needless projects. If the taxpayer is being screwed by anyone here, it's the CAO. But Jeff gets paid to be witty, snarky, and ultimately unserious about what we're doing here. Hill staff really appreciate his attitude. Thanks Jeff!
On October 14, 2008 Roll Callreported that Restaurant Associates, the vendor that runs all the House Cafeterias, intends to raise the prices on most food items, in some cases by as much as 47%. When asked for an official reason for this action, Restaurant Associates' spokesman blamed rising gas and food prices. While no one disputes gas prices and food prices have risen globally, there is reason to question whether an increase of this magnitude is necessary, given other recent questionable expenditures.
The House of Representatives relies on its Chief Administrative Officer to work with vendors to ensure that the relationships the House maintains with outside contractors is healthy and beneficial to all parties. In this case, we believe that Dan Beard, the Chief Administrative Officer, has not lived up to that commitment.
We are a group of Capitol Hill staffers who dine regularly at the House cafeterias. We aren't here to complain that Hill staffers are underpaid and overworked. But we know when we're getting a raw deal. That's why we've drafted this petition to Dan Beard, calling upon him to work with Restaurant Associates to reverse the price hike. We call on concerned patrons to let their voices be heard and sign the petition.
You don't have to be a Hill staffer to sign the petition. Concerned citizens and individuals who visit Capitol Hill on a regular basis are welcome to sign as well.
Click here for links to other articles related to Restaurant Associates and the House Cafeterias.
for questions or comments, email info@stopthepricehike.com.