Posted by Keturah Hetrick on Dec. 8, 2020
Freshman Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas) has so far spent the most, using 84.9 percent of his annual allowances by the end of Q3. More than 28 percent of Wright's total budget has gone toward printing and franking - a common strategy to reach constituents. The average representative spent just four percent of her or his budget on mass mailings in the same time period.
Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.) is the next highest spender, with 78.8 percent of his budget used in nine months. Hagedorn has faced major scrutiny for his office's ethically questionable expenditures in the first half of the year, when the office paid out tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a printing company owned at least in part by one of his staffers. In Q3, his office disclosed no further payments to that company.
Hagedorn's office has since cut back on its rate of spending but at this point has still spent far more than the average representative, who's used only 62.7 percent of her or his budget.
Reps. Ross Spano (R-Fla.), Steve Watkins (R-Kan.), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) also spent more than three-fourths of their respective budgets.
Spano's and Watkins' high expenses were mainly due to constituent mass mailings. Both congressmen lost their reelection bids this year.
Jeffries, whose district is located in New York City, spent much more than average on office rent costs. Although Slotkin (D-Mich.) spent higher-than-average total amounts but did not have disproportionately overspend on any one category.
In the event that a member overspends, he or she is personally responsible for re-paying that money. Any unspent office funds, meanwhile, are returned to the U.S. Treasury.
Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) has so far disclosed the least expenses, with only 44.15 percent of his budget spent. However, congressional offices usually report some expenses after the year is over, with Baird reporting more than 21 percent of his 2019 expenses in 2020.
Some people and organizations who "caught our eye" last week:
