You no longer have to fund portaits of Congress members

Artnet - There's a time-honored tradition of members of Congress and the executive branch sitting for portraits to hang on the walls of the United States Capitol. Thanks to an amendment to the federal budget, however, future politicians will be forced to pay for such artworks from their own pockets, rather than with taxpayer dollars, reports the New York Times. The Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act, or "Ego" Act, is the brainchild of Republican senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who took umbrage with the practice despite the negligible cost—roughly $25,000 each, according to a report from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Altogether, the ban saves the federal government under $500,000 a year.