Kansas Rep. Jerry Moran called for a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget during a town-hall meeting Wednesday.
"I haven't seen the discipline (in Congress) to do it without one," Moran, R-Hays, told a crowd of a little more than 100 at Wichita's Kansas Masonic Home.
He was joined at the meeting by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has endorsed Moran in the Senate race over Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, to replace Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, who's running for governor.
"I know both and like both a lot," Coburn said after the meeting. "I think (Moran) will be the stronger ally for me in terms of controlling spending."
During the question-and-answer session, Moran was asked about his association with a Washington townhouse known as the C Street House that has become a controversial topic.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint last week, asking the House and Senate ethics committees to look into whether the rent Moran and at least eight other members of Congress paid to live at the home was below market value.
If it was, the group said, the discount could be considered an illegal gift. Brownback and Coburn were also named in the complaint.
Moran said he has lived in the house for several years but occupies only "one room with a little tiny bed, a closet and a shared bathroom."
The watchdog group said the house's residents pay $950 per month for accommodations that should cost between $4,400 and $7,500.
"I don't know how you figure what fair-market value is," Moran said after the meeting." . . . I don't know where they come up with those numbers."
A Brownback spokesman said last week that the senator, who is running for governor, no longer lives in the house.
Read more of this story at Kansas.com