Food and the General Assembly

Caucuses look to save on meal money
By: Amanda Falcone, Record-Journal

HARTFORD - Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, likes to cook and eat, making him the perfect person to be in charge of coordinating lunches and dinners for the House Democratic Caucus.

The General Assembly's four caucuses order food on the taxpayer's dime when they are in session for hours at a time, and for House Democrats, all meal requests go through Aresimowicz.

He is now known as the "food guy" among his Democratic colleagues.

Aresimowicz takes recommendations, shops for the best deals and takes note of any dietary restrictions. It's a volunteer responsibility he has embraced. He likes seeing people satisfied, he said.

Prior to Aresimowicz, Rep. John C. Geragosian, D-New Britain, served as the House's "food guy," leaving the position when he took on the responsibility of Appropriations Committee chairman.

"Being appropriations chair is a lot easier than being food guy," Geragosian joked Wednesday, saying that it is hard to please so many lawmakers. "I was very happy to pass the spoon."

When food is ordered for House Democratic lawmakers and a few of their staff members, Aresimowicz said that he must plan to feed 100 people. Most of the time, they dine on sandwiches and pizza, he said, adding that occasionally they splurge for Chinese food.

"Cost is our No. 1 factor," Aresimowicz said.

The food ordered by all caucuses is paid for with taxpayer money. Each caucus gets a budget, which is money appropriated to the caucus from the state budget through the Office of Legislative Management.

The House Democrats have a caucus budget of a little more than $5 million. House Republicans have a budget of $2.8 million. Senate Democrats operate on $4.8 million and the Senate Republicans' budget is $2.9 million.

Caucus budgets are used for purposes determined by the caucus leaders, and some of the money is spent on food. Providing food when the legislature is in session is important because lawmakers need to be near the House and Senate chambers to vote, lawmakers say.

House Democrats, by far the largest of the four caucuses, with 114 members, spends between $1,000 and $1,500 per meal. The amount spent varies and depends on how many people need to be fed, points out Douglas Whiting, press secretary to House Speaker Christopher J. Donovan, D-Meriden.

House Republicans, a group of 37, say they usually end up spending about $20,000 when the legislature is in session for a short session of just a few months, but they spend about $25,000 when the legislature has a long session and meets regularly for about five months.

The dozen Senate Republicans have spent $5,199.14 since Jan. 1 on lunches, dinners and a few other events. They order from Hartford eateries, said Brett Cody, the Senate Republicans' spokesman. Their colleagues across the aisle have spent about $6,000. Democrats have 24 in the Senate.

During tough economic times, the caucuses say they are trying to save money by being judicious about how often they buy lunches and dinners, and they say they are not planning to spend their entire allocation.

Connecticut is facing a budget deficit of just over $1 billion for this fiscal year and a nearly $8 billion deficit for the next biennium, according to the state Office of Policy and Management's latest estimates.

House Democrats plan to save some money by having a few caucus potlucks throughout the legislative session. The first potluck, organized by Aresimowicz, was Wednesday, and lawmakers were impressed by the edible display in the House Democratic caucus room.

"It's a good move," said Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Cheshire, adding that she appreciates the choices that come with a potluck lunch.

Wanting to bring something healthy to the Capitol Wednesday, Esty made a salad.

"There's never enough salad," Esty said, adding that she wanted to make sure there were healthy options available because the job of lawmaker often is associated with weight gain.

Esty said she was warned that she would gain five to 10 pounds during her first year as a lawmaker. "It's like the freshman 15," she said.

"It's no joke," said Aresimowicz, who made sweet and sour meatballs for the potluck.

Like Esty, Rep. Emil Altobello Jr., D-Meriden, also came with a healthy dish - a frozen berry salad.

"The silver spoon in the berry bowl was made in Meriden," Altobello said.

Altobello's mention of his hometown got Aresimowicz' wheels turning and soon he began to outline a plan for a dessert potluck day. Lawmakers would be responsible for bring desserts made in their districts, he said.

In addition to some potluck meals, Aresimowicz said he may also collect a few dollars from lawmakers to save money. Other caucuses are asking for similar donations.