WASHINGTON As stewards of restaurant operations, U.S. senators can barely meet a payroll, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. General Accounting Office. The government auditing body found that Capital Hill restaurants overseen by the Senate ran at a loss of $1 million on sales of $10.1 million for the year that ended in October, despite free rent. The results come to light as the restaurant industry laments what it regards as increasing interference from lawmakers who fail to understand the intricacies and difficulties of running profitable foodservice operations.
The audit shows that feeding operations in the so-called Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund - cafeterias, snack bars, buffets, dining rooms, food shops and catering functions - carried a food cost of 32.5 percent, or $3.2 million. Gross income, the GAO indicated, was offset by a 67-percent labor cost, or $6.8 million. The shortfall in income ate up all of the $850,000 that was budgeted as a subsidy for the operations, leaving a net shortfall of $169,000. That compares with a net profit for the prior fiscal year of $169,000, when an operating loss was also offset by an $850,000 subsidy.
The GAO report, prepared for the Office by the accounting firm Clifton Gunderson LLP of Calverton, Md., noted that revenues had been tempered by $68,357 in unpaid tabs carried by senators and Senate personnel. That is a 27-percent increase in the 2005 accounts-receivable figure, the GAO noted.
The Revolving Fund facilities are operated for the benefit of senators and their staffs, with some outlets also available to the public. The eating places are operated under the direction of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
Many restaurateurs grouse that lawmakers often saddle the business with mandates and costly measures that reflect little understanding of the business and its financial challenges.