Office expenditures for the House of Representatives were released online for the first time this week, making it much easier to sift through data which was formerly only available in book format at the Capitol.
One of the most significant differences between members of the Minnesota delegation is the amount they spent on franked mail sent to constituents. Franked mail, which usually includes updates on a member's activities in Congress, is paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Minnesota's Republicans topped the list in franking expenses, with Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen spending about 10% of their total budget so far this year on franking. Jim Oberstar and Collin Peterson, both committee chairman and long-serving members of the delegation, spent the least on franking.
Franking Total Expenses Percent Bachmann (R) $105,581.00 $1,065,273.00 9.91% Paulsen (R) $93,038.00 $943,053.00 9.87% Kline (R) $53,860.00 $968,362.00 5.56% Ellison (D) $31,380.00 $874,410.00 3.59% Walz (D) $25,855.00 $944,350.00 2.74% McCollum (D) $10,440.00 $888,569.00 1.17% Peterson (D) $7,546.00 $914,929.00 0.82% Oberstar (D) $4,610.00 $1,075,743.00 0.43%
Oberstar and Peterson had higher compensation for office employees, however.
Personnel Comp. Total Expenses Percent Oberstar (D) $915,347 $1,075,743.00 85.09% Peterson (D) $728,310 $914,929.00 79.60% McCollum (D) $687,025 $888,569.00 77.32% Kline (R) $682,852 $968,362.00 70.52% Ellison (D) $671,971 $874,410.00 76.85% Walz (D) $664,786 $944,350.00 70.40% Bachmann (R) $624,544 $1,065,273.00 58.63% Paulsen (R) $540,537 $943,053.00 57.32%
And here are the members ranked by total office expenses so far this year.
Total Expenses Oberstar (D) $1,075,743.00 Bachmann (R) $1,065,273.00 Kline (R) $968,362.00 Walz (D) $944,350.00 Paulsen (R) $943,053.00 Peterson (D) $914,929.00 McCollum (D) $888,569.00 Ellison (D) $874,410.00
