While the most of American struggles through a severe economic recession, members of the U.S. Congress are using taxpayer money to buy plasma TVs and fancy digital cameras while leasing luxury sedans and SUVs for their “official use.”
Oh, and none of those expenses were made available to the public electronically – they are coming to light only because a team of reporters from the Wall Street Journal physically sifted through thousands of pages of data.
Amazing.
Seriously, lawmakers gave themselves automatic pay raises again this year, meaning that even the lowest paid House member gets $169,000 a year.
Apparently that’s not enough, though, which is why the U.S. Treasury gives each lawmaker an expense allowance of nearly ten times that – $1.3 million to $1.9 million a year.
Senators? They get between $2.9 million to $4.5 million … a year.
These accounts are technically limited to “official and representational expenses,” including travel and lodging. Of course some lawmakers make other taxpayer-funded travel arrangements, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The accounts are also used to fund the dissemination of massive amounts of taxpayer-funded propaganda, called “franked mail.” These are slick political mailings that almost always advance the personal agenda of the politician sending them, but are somehow classified as “official communications.”
Frankly, the fact that taxpayers are being forced to pick up the tab for these mailings in any economy – let alone this one – is ridiculous.
But these taxpayer accounts didn’t stop at hotels, air fare and propaganda.
From the WSJ report:
Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings spent $24,730 in taxpayer money last year to lease a 2008 luxury Lexus hybrid sedan. Ohio Rep. Michael Turner expensed a $1,435 digital camera. Eni Faleomavaega, the House delegate from American Samoa, bought two 46-inch Sony TVs …
Around 100 lawmakers lease cars using their official allowances. The majority lease American cars. Sport-utility vehicles, such as Ford Escapes and Chevy Tahoes, are among the most popular choices.
The fourth-quarter congressional expense records, bound in three thick beige-colored volumes, show that Rep. Rodney Alexander of Louisiana paid $20,000 for a 2009 lease on a Toyota Highlander, a hybrid SUV. Mr. Alexander said in an interview that the vehicle was for his state director’s official business.
Sheesh.
Must be nice …
No matter what you think of the merits of these expenses, though, the fact that they are not accessible for public review is a tremendous disservice to democracy.
In addition to these accounts being dramatically scaled back, every constituent in every district in America should be able to log on and see how his or her representative handles every dime of their money.
Of course, that would involve lawmakers submitting to accountability, which means we won’t hold our breath.
Props to the WSJ for doing the leg work on this story, though … it needed to be told.
By confused June 3, 2009 at 11:52 am
sure, there should be transparency. and i’m sure there’s some abuse. but, having been there, done that, i can assure you there’s incredibly little that is lavish about the expenditures under a congressional budget. staff are paid remarkably little, outside of the top end (and in light of rent in d.c.), they maintain as few as two and as many as four or five offices (fully staffed and equipped–computers, printers, copiers, phone systems, etc), the members have ridiculous travel arrangements to accomodate–booking a seat on every flight to and from their district on sunday/monday and thursday/friday because they don’t know when votes are going to end. oh, and the franked mail thing? again, yeah there’s some mailers that go out that are inherently campaign pieces–though it’s very hard to distinguish an update from a campaign mailer–but the damnable bulk of mail that goes out of a member’s office is responses to constituent mail. hundreds if not thousands a week. that, my friend, is totally legit.
and i have absolutely no problem with the members’ salaries either. $170K to maintain two houses full time, one of which is in one of the highest-rent districts in the country? to be one of 535 people in the country with your job? and the cars… my boss drove a POS ford taurus. richard burr drove a car from about world war 2 that we called “the thing.” of course, those were the cars they had to keep in d.c. they also had to have another one at home.
there’s plenty of waste and crap to target in d.c. members’ salaries and office budgets aren’t in my top 1000 places to start.
By Statesman June 3, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I agree confused. I wouldn’t give up my job for a seat in Congress. Although the retirement would be an enticement!
By Laurin June 3, 2009 at 1:43 pm
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2009/06/03/speaker-pelosi-announces-new-expense-disclosure-policy/
By Liberty for me June 3, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Congress and Senate should get no pay….there should be so little federal law that they could handle it all in a one week session a year.
It should be an honor to serve and not an elitist power trip.
By Cooter Brown June 3, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Who decides, mista confused, what’s “legit”? Ain’t nuthin legit about dese numbas!
By CNSYD June 3, 2009 at 6:06 pm
The real investigation should be the VIN number for those vehicles. The first digit of letter shows what country the vehicle was built in. Normally a 1 indicates the US. If ANY of those folk are not buying US built cars, then that is what ought to be exposed. Next, “automatic” pay raises. ALL government employees (except the President and VP} are under a Federal law that adjusts pay based on the cost of living (COLA). This law also includes retirees and those on social security. Check what happened years ago when Congress tried to halt not only their COLA raise but that of the Judges.
By confused June 3, 2009 at 11:09 pm
why on earth should they buy american cars? to reward failure? to try to make his excellency’s decision to national the industry seem savvy? no thanks.
if i’m an upstate congressman, i’m buying a bmw. if i’m in alabama, i’m buying a benz. hell, these days toyota’s more of an american car than anything detroit’s turning out.
and friend cooter, as i said, there’s clearly some abuse–there is in every single system of any kind anywhere on earth–but you gotta think about what their expenses are before you can say money they’re given is excessive. hell, the office i worked in had a total of 6 tvs in it. now, they weren’t 46 inch tvs–of course, no tvs were 46 inches back then–but it was an essential part of what we were doing. again, there’s plenty of targets without screwing with the money they’re spending on 99% necessary stuff, particularly if it cuts into the staff’s pay.
By liz June 4, 2009 at 6:46 am
Let Fidelity Investments pay for everything. They are singularly closing America anyway. They owe Congress and the Senate. They own the DOJ. They need to pay.
Fidelity’s parent company owned Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Circuit City, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac- by statement of beneficial ownership, Countrywide Mortgages and oh yeah, they own the largest shares in AIG.
FidelityManagement and Research also owns Unum Disability Insurer who owns COLONIAL LIFE. FMR owns all the banks requiring capital infusions too.
FMR owns all the Medicare Part D companies.
Fidelity is TOO BIG TO FAIL>
LET FIDELITY PICK UP THE TAB they are getting ALL the bailout and TARP money anyway.
By CNSYD June 4, 2009 at 8:20 am
confused, you have bought into the media hype. Foreign cars not only take money and jobs out of the US they screw you over on repairs. Not only over the top expensive but your car sits and you walk awaiting parts to come from some foreign land. So your idea is to reward the people who brought us Pearl Harbor or Nazi concentration camps? They are laughing all the way to the bank. Every BMW you buy that is built in SC gets a free ride on taxes thanks to BMW Campbell.
By Eric June 4, 2009 at 9:31 am
CNSYD, I’m sure that every little item you own has been made in America. If you want to pick the fight with foreign autos you gotta pick the fight with foreign paper clips, steel, wood, oil, and any of the millions of items that come from foreign countries.
By confused June 4, 2009 at 9:42 am
cnsyd, i’m fairly certain the people who brought us pearl harbor and nazi concentration camps are dead. and if they’re not, i don’t believe they’re running toyota or bmw.
every bmw built in the upstate is built by a south carolinian who might otherwise not have a job, and might otherwise not have a paycheck to spend in area stores, pay toward a mortgage on a house built in south carolina, or pay income taxes to the south carolina government. i’m not xenophobic enough to consider that a bad thing, and i’m not myopic enough to think “buying american” has anything to do with general motors or ford.
By Brandon June 4, 2009 at 10:25 am
There is only one answer to this, and it is term limits.
By CNSYD June 4, 2009 at 11:51 am
Eric and confused, I buy American as much as is possible. Twice in the last century we had to go whip Germany’s ass. Are you saying that none of those genes have survived to the present generation? We (the US) have sold our birthright for short term gains. Loss of our manufacturing and industrial base to cheap foreign labor has gutted our ability to be self sustaining. Why you want to become subservant to a foreign nation by getting on your knees for the crumbs they hand out is beyond me. If you think in times of war we will be able to survive by using movies and video games to defeat an opponent you are dead wrong.
By Eric June 4, 2009 at 5:34 pm
CNSYD, your logic is horribly flawed and seeded deep in emotion and lacks any type of true thought. Free markets – including free trade agreements – do nothing but help both Americans and the people they trade with. It encourages world peace (because of vested interests) and helps the global society as a whole.