Some members of Congress prioritize spending taxpayer money on actually doing things - legislating or helping constituents. Others prioritize spending on simply telling constituents about how much they do for them.
Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) blew through $649,000 of his $2 million annual budget in just the first half of the year to tell his constituents how much he is doing for them in the form of mailing and printing costs. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Ill.) was not far behind, spending $644,000 on printing and mailing costs.
By contrast, the average member spent only $51,000 on these expenses.
Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) and William Timmons (R-S.C.) each spent more than $300,000 on these expenses.
Members can communicate with constituents through "franked" mail paid by taxpayer dollars. Although the House Ethics Manual does not limit the amount a member can spend on franked mail, it prohibits members from using it for campaigning purposes or sending it within 90 days prior to a general or primary election that they are running in.
Thanedar and Giménez have also placed further emphasis on communicating their accomplishments to constituents through securing above-average levels of communications staff. Some 22% of Thanedar's and 23% of Giménez's staff budgets are directed toward a communications function, which is roughly double the average staff spending on communications.
