Democrats led the House in 2019 office spending, according to LegiStorm data.
Eight representatives spent more than 98 percent of the office budgets last year. Of those, six were Democrats. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) topped the charts, using nearly 98.9 percent of her personal office's official budget. Of all of Meng's expenses, 83.0 percent went toward paying her staff, compared to a House average of 78.5 percent.
Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), the next highest at 98.6 percent, used 13.7 percent of his budget on printing and franked mailings to constituents. The average member spent about 3.4 percent percent of their budgets on mass mailings during the same time frame.
Democrats Hank Johnson (Ga.), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Susan Davis (Calif.), Michael San Nicolas (Guam) and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), as well as Republican Don Young (Alaska), also each spent more than 98 percent of their office budgets.
Democrats also spent more on average, with over 90.3 percent of budgets used. GOP members spent 88.0 percent.
Jim Baird (R-Ind.), a freshman, reported the least expenses at 63.1 percent. Freshmen can have an advantage in saving money as their office staffs can take time to ramp up, easing the budget burden. The second lowest spender was Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) at 66.4 percent. However, congressional offices usually report some expenses after the year is over and last year she reported nearly 5 percent of her expenses late.
Any unspent funds are returned to the U.S. Treasury.
