DaytonDailyNews.com

WASHINGTON — In the final days of his last term in the U.S. Congress, U.S. Rep. David Hobson has been moved to a cubicle in what typically serves as a banquet room for the U.S. House of Representatives.

His old office is vacant, and being prepared for a new member to move in.

Along with 55 other departing members of Congress, Hobson's office space has been reduced to a cubicle, one laptop computer, one phone and, to make it homey, a plant.

They turn off the lights at

5 p.m. The doors to the banquet room open at 9 a.m. sharp.

Hobson, who is retiring after 17 years in Congress, is not happy.

"This wouldn't be a problem if we weren't doing anything," he said, speaking on the same day the House voted on a bill providing aid to the U.S. auto industry. "But we're in session working on a major piece of legislation."

And he was doing so in a tiny space, often arranging meetings in nearby offices or occasionally crashing with other members of Congress.

"This is extremely unprofessional," he said.

He's worried that constituent service has been damaged as a result of his new digs. Departing members are urged to only have one staff member at the cubicle at a time, but he said his office still has much to do. So many D.C. staffers are working from home. His Ohio offices, meanwhile, are still running.

His neighbor in the banquet room is U.S. Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., who decided not to run for another term in Congress after being charged with drunk driving. Hobson's staff has yet to see anyone from Fossella's office show up at the space, so they asked to use the computer. The office said no.

On Wednesday, Dec. 10, Hobson's staffers took turns negotiating the computer, each logging off so the other could get on. At one point, Hobson got a cell phone call. He left the banquet room because of the limited privacy.

Hobson, R-Springfield, said the digs were "a very undignified way to leave Congress."

"They don't make you go out the door feeling real good," he said.