Congressional Expenses

Fergus Cullen has done some research into how New Hampshire's House members spend our money in their federal offices:

Shea-Porter paid Democratic political consultant Julia Piscitelli $17,000 in seven payments spanning 2007 and 2008. Piscitelli previously worked in Nancy Pelosi's office and has described herself as a "political therapist." In an interview, Piscitelli said then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel dispatched her to teach Shea-Porter how to use franked mail -- mail that members of Congress can send to their constituents using their signatures in lieu of postage -- and to set up better systems for handling constituent mail. Now White House chief of staff, Emanuel's job then was to help vulnerable freshmen like Shea-Porter retain their seats, in part by exploiting the advantages of incumbency. (more)

Congressional abuse of the Franking Privilege, which lets them send thinly disguised campaign flyers at taxpayer expense, is a bipartisan disgrace. New Hampshire's House members are hardly alone in using tax dollars to get re-elected, but that doesn't make it right. Compounding the problem, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has no decided that the Franking Privilege is now simply a partisan perk, not available to the minority party.

Congressional Expenses Spreadsheet