Illinois lawmaker Bill Foster wants congressional gym, sauna closed during government shutdown

KTRK logo
Monday, December 24, 2018
Illinois lawmaker wants congressional gym, sauna closed during government shutdown
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, has proposed a bill to close the congressional gym and sauna during the government shutdown.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, Ill., wants to suspend some perks to members of Congress during the government shutdown.

On Sunday, Foster introduced legislation to close the gym and the sauna reserved for members.

Foster said that the only thing members should be doing during the shutdown is working to end it.

"During the Trump Shutdown, not only are Members still able to access the taxpayer-funded gym, sauna, and steam room while tens of thousands of federal employees remain furloughed, but janitorial staff are still required to clean the gym and restock it with towels and other 'essential items,'" Foster said in a statement of his Shutdown Prioritization Act proposal.

The partial government shutdown started early Saturday over a fight over funding for the proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.