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Republican defends congressional airline perks as cost-savings for Americans

While the Democrat-induced shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security enters its sixth week, Americans and even some airlines are looking for new ways to apply pressure on Congress to end it.

Most recently, Delta Air Lines announced that it would be revoking key perks afforded to members of Congress until DHS is reopened and Transportation Security Administration employees can get paid. These services include express lanes and dedicated congressional phone numbers to afford members and their staff extra flexibility.

'I wait in line like everyone else.'

But with no clear end in sight to the DHS shutdown, Republican Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri offered his own defense of the congressional perks.

"The reason these are put into place is because of our irregular schedule in Congress," Alford told Blaze News during a Republican Study Committee press conference Tuesday. "We don't know what time of the day we're going to leave after votes to get back to our district, to work in our district, to see our families."

"It's not like a special favor necessarily that we're getting. It's to accommodate a chaotic schedule in Congress so that we can represent the three quarters of a million people that we represent," Alford added.

Alford went on to offer a financial justification for these congressional benefits, arguing they ultimately save taxpayers money.

"There's also a discount for congressional travel," Alford said, "because this is taxpayer money that we're talking about. It comes out of our members' representational account, and going through this special office, there is a government fare for these tickets, and I would submit to you that that is in the best interest of the American taxpayer."

"These offices exist to help facilitate so that we can do our job, not for our pleasure, not to get through security any faster, but to do our job for the American people, and some use these services more than not," Alford added.

Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images

Although Alford defended some of these members-only services, he said it was "disconcerting" to see members of Congress cutting TSA lines and going around security, particularly during the DHS shutdown.

"I personally do not do that," Alford said. "I wait in line like everyone else, and I think the more the American people see that we are — look, we're a voice and a vote for three quarters of a million people."

"We are not better because we have this pin," Alford added. "We're not better than anyone else, but we do have a job to do, and to get here and to get back home is part of that job."

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