The Virginian-Pilot
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Thanks to a new initiative by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it's now easier for taxpayers to keep tabs on Congress members' office expenditures.
The information has been public since 1964, but available only in paper form - a three-volume, 3,000-page tome published quarterly by the Government Printing Office.
In an effort to increase governmental transparency and accountability, Pelosi earlier this year directed that the data be posted online as well. The first posting was made Monday.
Annual budgets for Congress members' Washington and district offices are determined by a standard formula and range from $1.3 million to $1.9 million.
The quarterly expenditure report covers everything from staffers' salaries to bottled water.
Among the four House members representing Hampton Roads, Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, is the bottled-water king. His staff spent $627 during the July-September quarter staying hydrated.
Forbes' total office expenditures for the quarter were also the highest among the four, at $332,279.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, spent the least, $274,986.
Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Norfolk, has the highest-paid staffer of the four: chief of staff Angela Kouters, who earned $37,500 last quarter. That's $150,000 a year.
Nye's office may also be the most caffeinated. His staff spent $821 on coffee service during the quarter.
Among Hampton Roads' representatives, Nye has spent the most on "franked" mail so far this year: $55,556. That's mail sent under the congressional franking privilege, which allows members to send official mail at taxpayer expense.
Nye, a freshman member who unseated an incumbent Republican in 2008, faces a tough re-election bid next year.
Scott has spent the least on franked mail this year: $3,850. A 17-year House veteran, he was unopposed in 2008.
For those who prefer to see the numbers on paper, the printed version of the quarterly spending report is still published. It's available in many public and university libraries.
Pelosi's push for online data-sharing notwithstanding, Congress still generates a blizzard of paper. One bit of evidence: Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland County, spent $57.50 last quarter on shredding services.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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Important reporting
I wish the media would scrutinize the billons wasted by congress on pet projects and ear marks - not to mention major bills like health care - rather than worrying about a cup of coffee.
While on the subject of spending, here's a novel idea. Why doesn't one congressional bill address only one subject at a time, rather than adding bridges to nowhere to a bill about health care. What does that have to do with health care, other than buying a congressman's vote for a bill he would otherwise not vote for. Let's return to 1776 when congressmen met for a few weeks a year and then returned to their real jobs, rather than living off the government , i.e, you and me. Wishful thinking.
I have to pay for my water and coffee
Since when did coffee and bottled water become a cost for the taxpayers? The only time I see that any sort of nourishment should be borne by the taxpayers is during the occurrence of an emergency such as a hurricane, ice storm, etc. and this should be on a limited basis. Government spending is so far out of control that it's unbelievable. Get a grip folks - I think you make enough to pay for your own drinks - if not, I guess you'll be like the rest of us and go without.
ironic
I find it ironic that congress can use taxpayer dollars to buy bottled water but it's illegal for the military to purchase bottled water using appropriated funds. Yes, illegal.
Suggestion: Pay for your own refreshments, then claim them as expenses on your taxes when appropriate. I've never been offered taxpayer funded refreshments in 25+ years of visiting government offices.
why?
Why can't they pool their money to buy their own coffee and water like the rest of us have to?
And AARP got $13 Million
from the Stimulus package.
Any wonder why they're now touting the virtues of BHOcare?
Just like Landrieu in LA: nothing but "sporting wimmen."
Who cares
I think I'm a bit more concerned with the trillion dollar deficit than who spent a couple hundred on bear claws.
Spending
I'm less interested in personal expenditures than I am in where did this money come from? What special interest group got it's back scratched in what way to provide this money?
Madame Pelosi wasn't happy
Madame Pelosi wasn't happy with the smaller jet that comes with the Speaker's job...no, Madame Pelosi was aggravated that this little jet had to Stop to refuel, so she uses a Big Fat Boeing 757 jet that can get her back to California without stopping! She claimed that the non-stop "requirement" is a security issue?
Since she only works 3 days a week, this gas guzzling jet gets fueled and she flies home to California and back. That is 16 trips per month!
I can't imagine the cost in just fuel alone?
Almost makes the $3,000 she spent on flowers in 4 months look like a DEAL!
Her motto....."For me, not thee"...."Let them eat cake!"
She and the others, should be FORCED to use the crappy Pelosi-care that they are forcing down our throats if they think it is SO wonderful!
They claim they will cover some of the cost by stopping Medicare Fraud...WHY don't they investigate Medicare fraud NOW !
BTW, WHERE is the VP article on HER expenses? Or at least a "link"?
continued Yeah right
The continued publication of these statements online, Pelosi says, will expand accountability to taxpayers and the press. She further pats herself on the back by claiming that under her leadership the House has passed unprecedented disclosure and lobbying reform laws and will continue to operate in a transparent and accountable manner.
The new plan evidently excludes details of how tax dollars are spent by her colleagues. The heavily promoted new disclosures omit items purchased by members, which staffers traveled on taxpayer money or where members rent district offices. Much of the information was available in the past, though not on the internet.
For instance, past reports itemize equipment such as computers, laptops, televisions, cameras and printers while the recently posted information simply categorizes the purchases as “comp hardware purch” or “equipment purchase.” The old books also featured specifics on travel, including members and staffers who took trips and where they went, but the new records omit the details by instead listing a general “commercial transportation” category with no additional facts.
Yeah right
You must be a supporter.Here's some info that will help you out.....
While Speaker Nancy Pelosi praises herself for ordering the unprecedented online release of House members’ expense reports, the much-ballyhooed disclosures actually provide far less information than in the past because key details have been intentionally erased.
The new online books, posted this week, are being touted as a milestone in congressional transparency, but an analysis conducted by a Capitol Hill newspaper tells a much different story. That’s because congressional administrators eliminated a vast array of details on the individual expenditures before posting them on the internet, making it impossible to determine what most of the money was actually spent on.
This certainly defeats the purpose of the plan, which was ordered by Pelosi with tremendous fanfare earlier this year. Madame Speaker assured that Americans would, for the first time, be able to see exactly how lawmakers spent their tax-funded office accounts. This week she celebrated the reports’ first-ever electronic version as a “full accounting of members’ and officers’ spending for official congressional business.”
Th