On CapitolHill, paying someone to hold your place in line for committee hearings is a common practice. But a new bill threatens the livelihoods of professional linestanders — and the companies that employ them.
Sen. Claire McCaskill introduced a measure last week aimed at lobbyists that would ban payment for linestanding services.
This is a “symbolic gesture … the people own this place,” said Maria Speiser, McCaskill’s press secretary. While many hearings are not crowded, full committee hearings, or hearings on hot-button issues are often packed.
Linestanding has become something of a cottage industry, with annual revenues estimated at a few million dollars. The handful of area companies that provide the service don’t intend to go down without a fight.
“I am managing a legitimate enterprise, and the bill proposes to eliminate my business,” said John Winslow, director of Linestanding.com. Getting lobbyists and associations to attend hearings is a behavior that should be “encouraged,” he argues. Winslow blames Congress for not scheduling the more popular hearings in larger rooms that could accommodate more people.
Clients aren’t just limited to lobbying firms, but run the gamut from non-profits to labor unions to trade associations, said Winslow. Linestanding.com, started in 1985, is a division of Quick Messenger service. Clients pay $30 per hour, and linestanders earn $15 per hour, with an average of 15 requests per day coming in.
Another company, Ace Linestanding, charges $36 per hour and pays employees between $12 and $18 per hour. “If someone uses the argument that this is lobbyists buying seats, that’s not the case. It doesn’t guarantee entrance into the committee itself,” said John Hacakis, manager of Ace Linestanding, which started in June 2007.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it. Lawyers don’t have time to wait in line at 4 a.m.,” said Paul Hofford, the downtown operations manager for Washington Express, a courier and linestanding service company headquartered in Beltsville.
“McCaskill would curtail a steady stream of income for many people,” including college students and retirees, said Mark Gross of Linestanding.com, whose company employs about 40 linestanders.
Political scientists predict that the measure has a very small chance of actually progressing, and if it does, a legal battle will most likely ensue.
