Did you find my research on the subject yet? It's dismal. My objective was the menu prices in their dining rooms. I think they guard that closer than Obomba guards nuclear secrets. hillary could have learned something from the Senate Dining Room staff about security

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2...

No pricing but some clues.

and some with advertising

http://www.fool.com/investing/general...

on the dark side
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11...
nothing there but a bunch of links to other subjects

NPR chimes in..

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpol...

Still no answer just tantalizing clues

http://dailysignal.com/2011/07/29/mem...

For pay go up the list in the comments...I'm looking for the cost of perks and which are freebies.

Written for the troops

The listing for the Senate Dining Room (not the one open to the public or at the Vistors Center) listed breakfast, main, desserts and take out. None of the links worked beyond that brief introduction.

What I'm left with is ....not much information besides free haircuts and beauty parlors, health club fees maybe waived, and rumors of the prices paid for meals by the Congressionals. The secret is being kept tighter than the invasion plans for the next raid on the publics pocketbook.

So what is the price of steak or hamburger in the holy of holies inner sanctum? Is it billed to the office or the congressional directly?

Good luck .....I'm going back to sleep.

His worth as listed in a study of the richest and poorest ten of each in Congress was $700,000 assume $200,000 was his fat cat wife's share. Where did the other half a million come from? Savings? Value of house and property

Retirement is age 62 after five years in Congress at $72,000 a year

Here's the plan at present Bernie is at the top level with 16 years Representative and 10 years Senate. 30 years at the end of this term.

A member of Congress retiring with 30 years of service under the CSRS offset plan would get an initial annual benefit of $130,500. However, at age 62 or older, this amount would be reduced by the amount received from Social Security attributable to federal service.

Regardless of which retirement plan they're covered by, members of Congress also have access to the Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP, which is like a 401(k) plan, except on steroids.

All federal employees in the TSP get a 1 percent contribution from the agency employing them even if they don't contribute to the plan. This contribution is vested (meaning they can't be forfeited) after two years of service. Those who contribute to the TSP get a 5 percent match from their employing agency. Members of Congress covered under FERS get this 5 percent match. Those under CSRS do not get the match, but they can contribute up to the limit, which in 2013 is $17,500 ($23,000 for those 50 and older).

The TSP is run efficiently. Expenses are offset by forfeitures of the 1 percent agency contributions if federal employees leave before they are vested as well as other forfeitures, and loan fees are applied to defray plan expenses. As a result, the TSP costs employees just 0.027 percent, or 27 cents per $1,000 invested. Meanwhile, for those Americans with access to a workplace retirement plan, expenses for a 401(k) plan range between 0.2 percent and 5 percent, according to BrightScope, depending on the size of the plan. Small plans get crushed by expenses.

How does this fee advantage benefit those in the TSP plan? Assuming a 7 percent annualized return and, just to keep things simple, a $5,000 annual contribution over 30 years, below are the amounts accumulated by a TSP plan participant paying 0.027 percent a year versus a 401(k) plan participant paying 1 percent a year. Calculations do not include matching contributions.
Fees of the government plan vs. private retirement plan
Plan type Plan cost (in %) Account value after 30 years
TSP 0.027 $470,016
401(k) plan 1 $395,291

The TSP plan participant ends up with a nest egg worth nearly 20 percent more than the 401(k) plan participant, thanks to the low fees. Imagine the disparity in savings if we considered more expensive 401(k) plans.

That's all the more reason for congressional members to focus on winning the next election!

Editor's note: The statistics in this article were gleaned from a Congressional Research Service report titled "Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress," Nov. 30, 2012, by Katelin P. Isaacs.

Now for health no it isn't free but.....

One of the most popular plans under FEHBP (the Blue Cross Blue Shield Standard plan) costs beneficiaries $430 a month for a family, and $185 a month for individual coverage. this iplan is the one that covers Congress. Congress was folded into Obamacare and the use of the regional pay out centers. I wonder which one is never behind on payouts.

I'm assuming the extra $500,000 is value of house and property in both home state and in/near Washington DC and value of TSP Plan. No info on wife's status. As for medical they are still top tier for patient space at Walter Reed.

Compare that to VA and military retirement with Tricare .. whoops those mandatory Obama care add ones from Medicare are scheduled to go up 50% this year. So much for Medical For Life. After all they were only cannon fodder.