Report:Titus biggest user of franked mail and teleservices
March 26, 2010 - 4:21 pm
Nevada Rep. Dina Titus is the biggest user of House-funded mass mailings and teleconferences, according to an Associated Press review that concluded freshman lawmakers in tight re-election races were most likely to be using taxpayer money to promote themselves to constituents.
Titus, a Democrat, spent $470,059.25 on communications last year, the AP found after reviewing House documents. The next biggest spender was Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kans., with $422,055.17. Third was Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., with $413.996.12.
In all, the 54 House members who were elected in 2008 spent more than $11 million.
Titus’ spokesman, Andrew Stoddard, told AP that because her suburban Las Vegas district is the most populous in the country, with nearly 1 million people, “it’s no surprise that we would need to spend more than other offices to communicate with our constituents.”
But, AP calculated, Titus' spending is more than the combined spending of House members representing 5.7 million people in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.