Choosing efficiency may be patriotic, but it doesn't sound very Pennsylvanian, does it? Maybe that's why our state lawmakers prefer to drive vehicles more representative of the Legislature itself: big, expensive, inefficient and paid for by you.
Taxpayers pick up an annual tab of at least $1.5 million to lease cars for state lawmakers, a price that does not include the gas for which they are reimbursed or the insurance that is bought for them. John M.R. Bull, the Post-Gazette's Harrisburg correspondent, laid all this out in a story Sunday, where he noted "we're not talking economy cars, either."
These suits are driving sport utility vehicles and minivans up and down the turnpike.
Now, even I, one of the last station wagon drivers in America, recognize that SUVs and minivans have their advantages. You have to carpool the neighborhood kids, or you need to go off road on the way to the dry cleaner, then you want that SUV.
But legislators don't have to go off road to have their dinner tabs picked up by lobbyists. They certainly aren't ferrying any Little League teams between here and Harrisburg. So what's with all these gas hogs they're having us lease for them?
Of the 35 Western Pennsylvania legislators leasing cars through the state, 22 of them drive one of these: Dodge Durango, GMC Safari and Safari All-Wheel Drive, Ford Explorer and Windstar, Chevrolet Suburban and Trailblazer, Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee.
None is economical if you're making two four-hour road trips every week and tooling around your district on the weekends. But, hey, their drivers don't have to spring for the gas. We do.
Lawmakers, like teen-agers, are mostly sheltered from the economics of the real world, and any questioning of their behavior elicits the same sort of "hey, all the kids at school are doing it" response. And I guess I have to concede that on the state Legislative Outrage Meter, this one doesn't register nearly as high as some of their past sins.
But even they should know that fuel efficiency in our vehicles is more important than ever. One of every eight barrels of oil that Americans consume comes from the Persian Gulf. Our gas dollars have been propping up corrupt regimes and finding their way into terrorist bank accounts.
Those advertisements that have recently come out linking America's drug use to terrorism could as easily link our oil dependence to the same.
If that were not enough to get our legislators back into cars that can't carry a soccer team, we have this: Gov. Mark Schweiker has proposed draining half the state's $1.1 billion Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget. Demanding 30 miles to the gallon on state-leased cars isn't going to change that, but in these extraordinary times, isn't it time for ordinary sacrifices?
Excuse me. What am I saying? Sacrifices? All we're talking about is getting our legislators to take different free cars. I've lived in Pennsylvania so long my threshold of disgust isn't what it used to be.
Not all legislators are leasing cars; some drive their own and are reimbursed for mileage at 36.5 cents per mile. (At least one, Rep. John Maher, R-Upper St. Clair, doesn't take reimbursement for any mileage-related expenses.) If you want to find out what vehicle you bought for your legislator, click here to check out the chart in John M.R. Bull's Feb. 3 story.
Take it from me, no Western Pennsylvania lawmaker is leasing a Honda Civic, a Chevrolet Prizm or a Saturn. The best mileage award probably goes to Rep. John Pippy, R-Moon, who manages to get to work driving a state-leased 2001 Chevrolet Impala.
I'll bet he gets razzed in the Capitol parking lot for that.
Brian O'Neill's e-mail address is boneill@post-gazette.com.
Mileage ratings for cars can be found atwww.fueleconomy.gov
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