Congressional Expenditures Now Online

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Watchdog took a look at the disbursement reports, available online for the first time, from Oklahoma’s congressional delegation, which includes Republican Reps. John Sullivan of Tulsa; Mary Fallin of Oklahoma City; Tom Cole of Moore; Frank Lucas of Cheyenne; and Democrat Rep. Dan Boren of Muskogee.

All the representatives contacted agreed that having this information online is a positive development.

Sullivan, who was preparing to leave for Copenhagen to attend the climate summit, said, “I think it’s good, the transparency of it. It’s been available in a hard copy but it being online is good for all eyeballs to see.”

Fallin replied in an email, “I believe our expenditures reflect my office’s commitment to serving constituents of Oklahoma’s Fifth Congressional District.  We are always very conscientious about spending taxpayers’ money and budget our needs and expenses very wisely.  I am glad this information is now available online to ensure greater government transparency, which is especially important when it comes to how taxpayer money is spent.”

Asked about the negative number showing up under the printing and reproduction category, Fallin’s communications officer Katie Bruns said, “That negative charge is a reclassified expense that had already been paid and disclosed in (the second quarter) but showed up under its new classification in (the third quarter).

Rep. Frank Lucas said, “I am pleased that Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi has finally placed this information online in an easy to use format. The people have the right to see how their money is being spent by their members of Congress and this is a step in the right direction.”

Rep. Boren replied, “I am pleased that greater transparency has been provided to citizen’s regarding the administration of the U.S. House and its Member offices.  With 25 counties spread across the entire block of eastern Oklahoma, these statements of disbursements reflect the administrative costs of representing one of the largest Congressional districts in the U.S. and maintaining the best possible constituent services for the citizens in the Second District.”

And Rep. Cole, who had the highest amount of expenditures, responded, saying, “While the Statement of Disbursement has been publicly available previously, I believe making it more accessible by putting it on the internet is an idea long overdue.”

Here are some details:

Rep. Dan Boren: The office total for Boren for the quarter was $317,680. For franked mail the total was $27,281; for equipment the total was $1,558; for travel the total was $20,579; for printing and reproduction the total was $3,363; for staff compensation the total was $215,580; for rent, communication and utilities the total was $27,294; and it was $5,581 for supplies and materials. And for “other services,” the total was $16,441.

Rep. Tom Cole: The office total for Cole for the quarter was a total of $390,047. For franked mail the total was $43,613; for travel the total was $31,598; for equipment the total was $7,817; for printing and reproduction the total was $25,046; for staff compensation the total was $240,189; for rent, communication and utilities the total was $24,496 and it was $4,595 for supplies and materials. And for “other services” the total was $12,688.

Rep. Mary Fallin: The office total for Fallin for the quarter was a total of $285,397. For franked mail the total was $18,295; for travel the total was $31,598; for equipment the total was $364; for staff compensation the total was $212,881; for supplies and materials the total was $1,260; and for rent, communication and utilities the total was $29,159. And for “other services” the total was $10,724. In this quarter Fallin had a negative total of $3,715 for printing and reproduction.

Rep. Frank Lucas: The office total for Lucas for the quarter was a total of $327,985. For franked mail the total was $28,236; for travel the total was $33,092; for staff compensation the total was $187,398; for supplies and materials the total was $5,589; for printing and reproduction the total was $25,418; equipment cost $2,324; and for rent, communication and utilities the total was $35,492. And for “other services” the total was $10,433.

Rep. John Sullivan: The office total for Sullivan for the quarter was a total of $342,143. For franked mail the total was $10,588; for travel the total was $9,445; for staff compensation the total was $240,339; for supplies and materials the total was $5,708; for printing and reproduction the total was $33,330; for rent, communication and utilities the total was $28,628. And for “other services,” the total was $13,859. For equipment the total was $243.

The electronic version of the “Statements of Disbursements of the House” was posted online by the U.S. House of Representatives. This had not been available before but was just posted online at disbursements.house.gov and covers July 1 to September 30.

About the author: Andrew Griffin is editor of reddirtreport.com and oklahoma.watchdog.org