Do Lawmakers Get Free Parking at Agencies They Oversee?

According to Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, his position on the House Natural Resources Committee gives him dominion over all of the government agencies that body manages. Or, at least, their parking spaces.

Earlier this month, Gohmert got into an argument with Park Police near the Lincoln Memorial, who disagreed with the Congressman's assertion of his parking-space authority. Jake Sherman at Politico reports:

Shortly after 11 p.m. on March 13, officers wrote Rep. Louie Gohmert a citation for parking his black Ford SUV in a spot reserved for National Park Service vehicles, according to a Park Police report obtained by POLITICO.

But Gohmert wasn’t having it — he told the Park Police that his congressional parking placard allows him to park in that spot, and he’s on the committee that oversees the agency.

Gohmert took the ticket off his windshield and placed it on a police car along with his business card with a message written: “Oversight of Park Service is my job! Natural Resources Thus the Congressional Plate in window.”

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