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So what's new?
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pelosi-buys-16k-worth-of-flowers-2007-12-12.html
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office,
one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her high-profile inaugural year
than her low-key predecessor did last year.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent a little more than $3 million in the first nine
months of 2007, records show, compared to the $1.8 million Rep. Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.) spent during the same period in 2006.
Republicans are spending more as well. House Minority Leader John Boehner
(R-Ohio) has increased spending 23 percent above what Pelosi spent when she
held the same job. That would be 16 percent if some of Hastert's closing-out
costs were deducted.
The spending patterns indicate Pelosi is seeking to restore the Speaker's
role as a counterweight to the president and reclaim some of the
responsibilities Hastert had ceded to his aggressive majority leader, Tom
DeLay (R-Texas). Because of their different roles, Pelosi aides say it is
unfair to simply compare Pelosi's spending to Hastert's.
"When Speaker Pelosi took the gavel, it was an historic moment. In the days
since, the Speaker has hosted leaders from across the country and around the
world - opening the People's House to the people and discussing the work of
the 110th Congress," Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said in response to
e-mailed questions. "There are major new costs associated with setting up
the new office of the new Speaker of the House."
Republicans say Pelosi's office spending undercuts her message that
Democrats are restoring fiscal responsibility to the halls of Congress.
"They could have saved the taxpayer $16,000 by sending out an intern to pick
flowers from the Capitol lawn, but I guess that would have detracted from
the $4 million worth of pork they planted as part of the 'greening'
project," said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for Boehner.
Boehner will be refunding more than $1 million to the treasury from the
money he was allocated, Kennedy said.
Most of the $16,058 that Pelosi charged taxpayers for flowers, Elshami said,
was for the visits of foreign dignitaries, such as Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Jordan's King Abdullah.
"Many of the same dignitaries and international leaders hosted by the White
House . are also hosted by Speaker Pelosi," Elshami said. "This expense is
associated largely with these occasions and other Congress-wide, bipartisan
events"
While Hastert didn't appear to spend any money on flowers last year,
bouquets are not new to Pelosi's office. She spent about $5,000 on flowers
last year when she was minority leader.
Attempts to find out how much the White House spends on flowers were
unsuccessful.
The increase from Hastert to Pelosi was driven largely by a surge in travel
and a heavily fortified payroll.
Pelosi has more people working for her. Hastert employed 35 people during
the third quarter of last year. Pelosi, by contrast, had 51 people on her
payroll during the same time period.
"As the first Democratic Speaker in 12 years, there was a responsibility to
the American people and the Democratic Caucus to hit the ground running and
to pass the New Direction agenda," Elshami said. "To achieve this goal, more
resources were needed, including the hiring of additional staff in policy
and research areas, for example."
Another factor in the disparity is travel. Hastert didn't bill much official
travel last year, spending only about $1,700, while Pelosi racked up many
times that at nearly $60,000 - a figure that does not include her
"congressional delegation" journeys to Europe and the Middle East. It does,
however, include many visits to congressional districts.
"As the first woman Speaker of the House and first Democratic Speaker in 12
years, there continues to be a demand for her to travel across the country
to appear in congressional districts with members, to meet with local press
and editorial boards, and to meet with representatives of the private
sector," Elshami said.
Pelosi also has use of a "legislative floor activity" account, while Boehner
controls extra money for "minority employees," which include his employees
and those of other Republican leaders.
If those accounts are factored in, Pelosi's spending increased 52 percent,
and Boehner's spending increased 12 percent.
The spending information is contained in thick books issued quarterly called
the Statement of Disbursements of the House. Some call them "brown books"
for their beige covers (Senate books are green). Others call them "bitch
books," because congressional staffers look up their counterparts' salaries,
then complain to their bosses if they're paid less.
The books are often used to check spending of members' representational
allowance, which in 2007 ranged from $1,262,065 to $1,600,539. Each member
of leadership has an MRA account for his or her district office, and a
separate account to cover the leadership office.
Under a continuing resolution passed in February, House members got $555
million for their MRAs, and leaders were allocated $24 million.
Other expenses in Pelosi's office include:
.. A $10,000 contract to former Clinton White House speechwriter Heather
Hurlburt to write the speech Pelosi delivered to the Israeli Knesset.
.. Nearly $20,000 to Washington attorney Richard Meltzer to help with Pelosi's
transition. "Just like a presidential transition, Richard Meltzer was hired
to oversee the historic changeover of Congress," Elshami said.
.. More than $2,400 to hire a makeup artist for the week of her swearing in.
Pelosi later reimbursed the entire cost from her personal funds.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has spent 1 percent more than
Boehner spent when he was majority leader. Boehner was elected majority
leader in early February 2006. The office is shrinking from the days of
DeLay, who had 29 staffers in 2004. Hoyer had 23 employees in September.
As minority leader, Boehner has carried $127,000 to cover the costs of
transitioning from Hastert's tenure and archiving Hastert's materials.
Beyond that, he has spent more from his minority leader accounts than Pelosi
did on services and some salaries.
"Mr. Boehner handles the office books the same way he'd like to see the
federal budget administered, which is why he returned to the Treasury
roughly $1 million from FY06 and is on track to best that number for FY07,"
Kennedy said. "Any modest increase in expenditures this year over last
reflects the additional responsibilities he assumed as the highest-ranking
Republican in the House."
The biggest swings were in some of the lower-profile offices.
House Minority Conference Chairman Adam Putnam's (R-Fla.) office spent 58
percent more than Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) when he was the minority caucus
chairman.
A spokesman for Putnam said he absorbed many departure costs for the
outgoing conference chairwoman, Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio). For example,
many departure bonuses were paid to Pryce's employees this year, counting
toward Putnam's total. The disbursement books show Putnam has spent about
$200,000 less than Pryce did last year.
The biggest percentage decrease was for the Democratic Steering and Policy
Committee, run by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). The committee spent 28
percent less this year.
Putnam's office said it is fairer to compare the spending of the whole
Republican conference, steering and policy operations to the Democratic
caucus, steering and policy operations.
Money is distributed evenly between the Republicans and Democrats for those
functions, and the party leaders decide how to allocate them.
Under that calculation, Republicans spent 18 percent less than they did last
year while Democrats' spending rose 4 percent over last year. Democrats,
however, say that is not a legitimate comparison.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pelosi-buys-16k-worth-of-flowers-2007-12-12.html
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office,
one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her high-profile inaugural year
than her low-key predecessor did last year.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent a little more than $3 million in the first nine
months of 2007, records show, compared to the $1.8 million Rep. Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.) spent during the same period in 2006.
Republicans are spending more as well. House Minority Leader John Boehner
(R-Ohio) has increased spending 23 percent above what Pelosi spent when she
held the same job. That would be 16 percent if some of Hastert's closing-out
costs were deducted.
The spending patterns indicate Pelosi is seeking to restore the Speaker's
role as a counterweight to the president and reclaim some of the
responsibilities Hastert had ceded to his aggressive majority leader, Tom
DeLay (R-Texas). Because of their different roles, Pelosi aides say it is
unfair to simply compare Pelosi's spending to Hastert's.
"When Speaker Pelosi took the gavel, it was an historic moment. In the days
since, the Speaker has hosted leaders from across the country and around the
world - opening the People's House to the people and discussing the work of
the 110th Congress," Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said in response to
e-mailed questions. "There are major new costs associated with setting up
the new office of the new Speaker of the House."
Republicans say Pelosi's office spending undercuts her message that
Democrats are restoring fiscal responsibility to the halls of Congress.
"They could have saved the taxpayer $16,000 by sending out an intern to pick
flowers from the Capitol lawn, but I guess that would have detracted from
the $4 million worth of pork they planted as part of the 'greening'
project," said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for Boehner.
Boehner will be refunding more than $1 million to the treasury from the
money he was allocated, Kennedy said.
Most of the $16,058 that Pelosi charged taxpayers for flowers, Elshami said,
was for the visits of foreign dignitaries, such as Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Jordan's King Abdullah.
"Many of the same dignitaries and international leaders hosted by the White
House . are also hosted by Speaker Pelosi," Elshami said. "This expense is
associated largely with these occasions and other Congress-wide, bipartisan
events"
While Hastert didn't appear to spend any money on flowers last year,
bouquets are not new to Pelosi's office. She spent about $5,000 on flowers
last year when she was minority leader.
Attempts to find out how much the White House spends on flowers were
unsuccessful.
The increase from Hastert to Pelosi was driven largely by a surge in travel
and a heavily fortified payroll.
Pelosi has more people working for her. Hastert employed 35 people during
the third quarter of last year. Pelosi, by contrast, had 51 people on her
payroll during the same time period.
"As the first Democratic Speaker in 12 years, there was a responsibility to
the American people and the Democratic Caucus to hit the ground running and
to pass the New Direction agenda," Elshami said. "To achieve this goal, more
resources were needed, including the hiring of additional staff in policy
and research areas, for example."
Another factor in the disparity is travel. Hastert didn't bill much official
travel last year, spending only about $1,700, while Pelosi racked up many
times that at nearly $60,000 - a figure that does not include her
"congressional delegation" journeys to Europe and the Middle East. It does,
however, include many visits to congressional districts.
"As the first woman Speaker of the House and first Democratic Speaker in 12
years, there continues to be a demand for her to travel across the country
to appear in congressional districts with members, to meet with local press
and editorial boards, and to meet with representatives of the private
sector," Elshami said.
Pelosi also has use of a "legislative floor activity" account, while Boehner
controls extra money for "minority employees," which include his employees
and those of other Republican leaders.
If those accounts are factored in, Pelosi's spending increased 52 percent,
and Boehner's spending increased 12 percent.
The spending information is contained in thick books issued quarterly called
the Statement of Disbursements of the House. Some call them "brown books"
for their beige covers (Senate books are green). Others call them "bitch
books," because congressional staffers look up their counterparts' salaries,
then complain to their bosses if they're paid less.
The books are often used to check spending of members' representational
allowance, which in 2007 ranged from $1,262,065 to $1,600,539. Each member
of leadership has an MRA account for his or her district office, and a
separate account to cover the leadership office.
Under a continuing resolution passed in February, House members got $555
million for their MRAs, and leaders were allocated $24 million.
Other expenses in Pelosi's office include:
.. A $10,000 contract to former Clinton White House speechwriter Heather
Hurlburt to write the speech Pelosi delivered to the Israeli Knesset.
.. Nearly $20,000 to Washington attorney Richard Meltzer to help with Pelosi's
transition. "Just like a presidential transition, Richard Meltzer was hired
to oversee the historic changeover of Congress," Elshami said.
.. More than $2,400 to hire a makeup artist for the week of her swearing in.
Pelosi later reimbursed the entire cost from her personal funds.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has spent 1 percent more than
Boehner spent when he was majority leader. Boehner was elected majority
leader in early February 2006. The office is shrinking from the days of
DeLay, who had 29 staffers in 2004. Hoyer had 23 employees in September.
As minority leader, Boehner has carried $127,000 to cover the costs of
transitioning from Hastert's tenure and archiving Hastert's materials.
Beyond that, he has spent more from his minority leader accounts than Pelosi
did on services and some salaries.
"Mr. Boehner handles the office books the same way he'd like to see the
federal budget administered, which is why he returned to the Treasury
roughly $1 million from FY06 and is on track to best that number for FY07,"
Kennedy said. "Any modest increase in expenditures this year over last
reflects the additional responsibilities he assumed as the highest-ranking
Republican in the House."
The biggest swings were in some of the lower-profile offices.
House Minority Conference Chairman Adam Putnam's (R-Fla.) office spent 58
percent more than Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) when he was the minority caucus
chairman.
A spokesman for Putnam said he absorbed many departure costs for the
outgoing conference chairwoman, Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio). For example,
many departure bonuses were paid to Pryce's employees this year, counting
toward Putnam's total. The disbursement books show Putnam has spent about
$200,000 less than Pryce did last year.
The biggest percentage decrease was for the Democratic Steering and Policy
Committee, run by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). The committee spent 28
percent less this year.
Putnam's office said it is fairer to compare the spending of the whole
Republican conference, steering and policy operations to the Democratic
caucus, steering and policy operations.
Money is distributed evenly between the Republicans and Democrats for those
functions, and the party leaders decide how to allocate them.
Under that calculation, Republicans spent 18 percent less than they did last
year while Democrats' spending rose 4 percent over last year. Democrats,
however, say that is not a legitimate comparison.
