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Using tax dollars to get the kids to vote for you.
I suspect when a young and naive 18 year old kid gets a letter from a powerful Congressman telling the kid he is wonderful there is a good chance the kid will vote for the Congressman. And it's paid for with your tax dollars. "Since the teens are new or soon-to-be-voters, Schock sends them voter registration forms too" When lawmakers communicate, constituents often pay In 30 months, Illinois representatives spent $4.27 million in public money using 'franking' privilege By Katherine Skiba, Chicago Tribune reporter November 28, 2011 WASHINGTON — This year, House Republican Aaron Schock of Peoria penned an op-ed piece warning that the government was broke. "Washington, this is an intervention," he began. "You spend too much and it's hurting us all." Weeks later, Schock used taxpayer dollars to mail congratulatory letters — and suitable-for-framing certificates of "special congressional recognition" — to every high school graduate in his central Illinois district. Since he was sworn in nearly three years ago, Schock has honored high school graduates this way each spring, and public records show he is alone among the 19 House members from Illinois in doing so. Schock told the Tribune that costs were "very minimal," but he would not disclose them. Altogether, House lawmakers from Illinois spent more than $4.27 million in taxpayer money on mass mailings and communications in a 30-month period ending in June, a Tribune review found. In addition to graduation certificates, some lawmakers distributed personalized wall calendars showcasing Washington sights, and one spent $13,500 on a robo-call urging people to help their neighbors after February's blizzard. The Tribune found the constituent outreach jumped as lawmakers' re-election bids neared, bolstering critics' arguments that the expenditures give incumbents an unfair advantage. The National Taxpayers Union, a watchdog, views most mass mailings as wasteful self-promotion "hard to distinguish from campaign fliers," as one official put it. Lawmakers defend their mail blitzes, saying it's important to let constituents know what they're doing, how they can help them and where they're holding town hall meetings, job fairs and such. In April, Schock, 30, was appointed chairman of the House Franking Commission, a six-member panel of lawmakers who oversee the taxpayer-funded mass mailings. "Franking" refers to the privilege in which certain government officials send mail by signing their names rather than affixing postage (the word comes from the Latin word "francus," meaning "free"). But "franked" mail isn't free. House members from Illinois must reimburse the U.S. Postal Service out of their annual office budgets of about $1.4 million. According to the Congressional Research Service, reforms in the last 25 years have reduced franking expenditures. Still, in the 435-member House, the tab for mass mailings over a 12-year period ending in 2008 reached $224.5 million, for an annual average of $18.7 million. Mass mailings are unsolicited letters, newsletters and postcards sent to at least 500 addresses. The Franking Commission also reviews "mass communications," such as robo-calls and ads placed in newspapers or on the Web, to ensure regulations are followed. The spending on mass communications in 2009-10 was $93.1 million, an annual average of $46.6 million, the research service said. The Tribune found about $225,000 per Illinois congressional district was spent on mass mailings and communications from January 2009 to June 2011. Although Schock heads the franking panel, he turned down a request for an interview on the subject. He answered some questions in writing, but not all. To one question, he said the commission was "focused on increasing transparency and giving the public more information regarding member communications." To another, he explained why he honors graduates with certificates. "I think that graduating high school is an educational milestone for a young student that deserves recognition and encouragement," he wrote. "There are many families whose son or daughter's graduation is the first time a family member has graduated." Since the teens are new or soon-to-be-voters, Schock sends them voter registration forms too. Kayla Birdsell, 20, who graduated in 2009 from A-C Central High School in Ashland, Ill., said she didn't remember getting the certificate, but that her mother tucked it away in a box full of mementos of her high school accomplishments. "I'm not sure it's a good way to spend money, but at the same time, it's giving people the recognition they need. You're not just anybody. You're somebody," said Birdsell, now a junior at Illinois College in Jacksonville. Rules forbid spending on "franked" mass mail and communications within 90 days of an election, and spending tends to shift to the period just prior. Twenty-nine cents of every dollar in the Tribune's review of Illinois lawmakers was spent from July to September 2010; the general election was in November 2010. Overall, more money was spent in 2010 than in 2009. Franking is a topic that House Democrat Dan Lipinski of Western Springs knows well. The son of a congressman, Lipinski in 2004 spun his Ph.D. dissertation into a book, "Congressional Communication: Content and Consequences." It opens with a quote from a veteran Capitol Hill staffer: "When communicating with constituents, every politician is thinking strategically; if he says he's not he is lying." In an interview, Lipinski said every year he sends two districtwide mailings and one to veterans and seniors. People appreciate them, he said, and complain if they missed an event because the mail was late. He just spent $3,260 in public money for 750 glossy wall calendars from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society for distribution to elected officials and residents. He's purchased 500 to 600 calendars every year since taking office in 2005. A legitimate use of tax dollars? "Yes," he said. "How much money are we talking here? If I were randomly sending a calendar to every constituent, I could see that being an issue." Democrats Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and Jerry Costello of Belleville also have purchased and distributed the calendars, records show. Schakowsky does it every year; this year she said she spent about $6,235. But she said her overall franking costs are falling as she relies more on email and e-newsletters. Costello's office did not respond to calls for more details on his purchases. At the Taxpayers Union, Executive Vice President Pete Sepp frowns on calendars bought with public money. "Some may appear to be innocuous freebies to constituents, but they're certainly not free, and in large quantities can have an underlying political significance," he said, noting lawmakers use them for visibility and good will. And the rest? "The bulk of unsolicited mass mail is designed to portray the incumbent in the best possible light," Sepp said, "While the message may not be blatantly political, it provides a PR boost that political challengers often have to counter with their own campaign money." House Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr.'s spent $13,500 on a robo-call to 92,402 households after last winter's big blizzard. Urging neighborliness, he said three times that the storm was the work of God and also urged constituents to "turn to each other and not on each other." Then he reminded young men that they could make money shoveling driveways. A good use of public funds? "Absolutely," said Jackson, who recalled that as plows dug out Lake Shore Drive, his South Side district "remained buried." The Tribune found top spenders were two Democrats who are no longer in Congress but are waging campaigns to return: Debbie Halvorson of Crete and Bill Foster of Naperville. Halvorson spent $611,000; Foster spent $516,000. Both lost re-election bids in 2010. Foster said that although lawmakers must communicate with constituents, he "would not be upset" if the franking privilege were ended since "there are enough advantages of incumbency already." Some members shun franking. House Democrat Bobby Rush of Chicago spent nothing in the period studied. "We get the congressman's story out without nagging robo-calls and expensive mass mailings," said spokeswoman Renee Ferguson. House Republican Don Manzullo of Egan spent $245 for a newspaper ad before a town hall meeting, said spokesman Rich Carter. Among sitting lawmakers, the biggest spenders were House Republicans Peter Roskam of Wheaton, $503,000, and Judy Biggert of Hinsdale, $479,000. Among Biggert's mailings are a twice-annual newsletter. "An important part of my job is communicating with residents," she said. From Dan Conston, Roskam's spokesman: "Peter and the office put a very high premium on keeping constituents informed and also soliciting their feedback." The practice is less common in the Senate. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has not sent a mass mailing since 2003. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., sent mass mailings as a U.S. representative, but hasn't since he entered the Senate last year. kskiba@tribune.com |