Coleman says DC apartment is a non-issue
Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman says he would welcome an ethics committee review of his living arrangements in Washington, D.C.
Democrats allege that Coleman's $600 a month rent is too low, and could be a violation Senate gift ban rules. They raised additional questions this week about Coleman's nonpayment of utility bills for 12 months.
After a state Capitol news conference today, Coleman told reporters that his apartment arrangement is a non-issue.
"It is a shoebox that I spend a couple waking hours in," said Coleman. "And as I travel the state, I gotta tell you, people of Minnesota actually appreciate the fact that I live humbly as a senator, that I'm not living the way some people think senators live. And I do that because my family and my home is here in St. Paul."
Coleman rents a room in a Washington row house owned by Republican businessman Jeff Larson.
The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint last month about Coleman's living arrangement.
Coleman is running for a second term in the upcoming election. He is opposed by DFLers Al Franken and Priscilla Lord Faris, and several IP candidates, including Dean Barkley, Jack Uldrich and Stephen Williams.
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