Cincinnati
Enquirer...
Boehner takes expense
checks, but overall office spending is down
Jun 20, 2011
Written by mrulon
House Speaker John Boehner appears to be spending less than his
predecessor on his leadership office, despite accepting a monthly
expense check of about $2,000, according to an Enquirer analysis of
spending records.
There are several caveats, but the raw numbers suggest that Boehner
spent $1.07 million during the first quarter of 2011, compared to the
$1.27 million that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spent
during the first quarter of 2010.
That’s a decrease of about 19 percent.
Boehner had pledged when he became speaker to cut office spending by 5
percent.
In an overwhelming 410-13 vote on Jan. 6, the House approved the plan,
which cuts about $35 million a year.
It was unclear whether Boehner’s office would continue to operate at
the same funding level it did during the first quarter.
Some of this decrease could be due to the time it takes to staff a new
office. Salaries in Boehner’s office accounted for $917,057 compared to
$1.18 million in Pelosi’s office. Some of Boehner’s employees started
mid-way through the quarter.
Other line items where Pelosi outspent Boehner included travel ($15,461
compared to $2,551), rent and utilities ($4,169 compared to $1,574) and
printing ($3,780 compared to $2,511).
Boehner’s office, as you might expect with a new staff, had higher
costs for supplies and materials: $139,378 compared to $45,913 for
Pelosi.
The line item that has gotten the most attention, however, is a
$2,083.33 check for expenses that Boehner received each month. The
amount listed is the same each month, suggesting that it’s a set
payment rather than reimbursement for specific items.
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel declined to provide any further
details, telling Roll Call newspaper: “This money is used in
appropriate ways for expenses related to his official duties.”
According to Roll Call, none of the other Republican and Democrat
leaders, including Pelosi; Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.; and
Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md; have accepted expense checks this past
quarter.
The reports detailing how much each lawmaker spent on their office
expenses came out this month and cover activity from Jan. 1 until March
31.
However, since the new Congress was sworn in on Monday, Jan. 3, the
speaker’s office expenses included two days in which Pelosi’s staff was
paid. Those payments were excluded from the Enquirer’s analysis.
Still, Boehner’s new office budget is significantly higher than it was
when he was minority leader. For the first three months of 2010,
Boehner’s leadership office spent just $751,139. At that time, Boehner
was getting a monthly expense check of $833.
Click here to look up office spending reports. For leadership offices,
click on “Part 1 of 3″ and scroll down to the section that lists
expenses for the office of House Speaker.
Read it with links at the Cincinnati Enquirer
|
