The Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives,Kevin McCarthy, isn’t happy about a deal that would have offered staffers a membership for an app that provides access to thousands of streaming exercise classes.
“You may be asking, ‘What’s Peloton?’ It’s a bike that costs about $2,000. Not only that, each month you pay a monthly subscription fee to ride your $2,000 bike. And best of all, it’s stationary and they charge you about $300 to set it up,“McCarthy said in a speechon the House floor Wednesday. “So it’s $2,000 bike that you pay to use and pay to set up that doesn’t go anywhere.”
McCarthy continued, saying that House SpeakerNancy Pelosi"decided to give everyone in Congress a Peloton gym membership” and claimed she “did it without any debate or discussion with any Republicans.”
“The CAO and Peloton entered into a purchase agreement to provide all House staff with a digital Peloton subscription. Upon being briefed of the proposed program, Committee on House Administration Chair Zoe Lofgren instructed the CAO to not proceed with the agreement,” her spokesman Drew Hammill said. “Therefore, no taxpayer funds have been or will be spent on this rejected proposal.”
A separate request from PEOPLE to the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer was not returned.
The average cost of the Peloton All-Access Membership is $39 per month, and a Peloton App Membership costs $12.99 per month,HuffPost reports.
The Peloton bike.Peloton
The memo outlining the offer to House staff and police had been delayed, according toThe Hill, which also reported other benefits on offer from the House Well-Being Center, including offers to download the Calm sleep app, FinFit app used for financial planning and the Foodsmart app, which gives personalized nutrition advice to users.
Another offering would provide same-day alcohol and beverage orders and delivery through the House’s food services vendor,The Hillalso reported.
Other Republicans joined McCarthy in expressing disapproval for the proposed employee perks and blamed Pelosi despite her apparent lack of involvement in the details of the deal.
Rep.Austin Scott of Georgia accused Pelosi of “opening a liquor store in the House where Members can buy alcohol with their taxpayer-funded MRAs … All while Americans are struggling to pay for food.”
source: people.com
