A half-dozen law makers in Capitol Hill at Washington are facing an investigation by House Ethics Committee into their unreturned surplus per diem allowances meant for overseas travel. It has been gathered now that when lawmakers travel, many of their meals and expenses are picked up by other people, such as foreign officials or U.S ambassadors.
The funniest part is that the rules regarding this allowance are vague from their point of view. If law-makers are ignorant or indifferent towards a common rule for their own conduct, how are they justified in enacting laws and regulations for others to follow in USA?
A similar trend is noticed in Indian Parliament too which passes bills from time to time enabling enhanced pay, allowances and other perks without bothering to go through any formal commission to look into those revisions as in the case of permanent executives and other employees of Central Government, namely, Government of India.
It is also a matter of fact and concern to the common man that if a similar test or investigation is ordered into the claims made in the past several years by many civil servants during their foreign sojourns would reveal startling facts and figures warranting action and punishment. Who is to bell the cat?
