Lawmakers Bill Taxpayers For TVs, Cameras, Lexus

Bloomberg News佛罗里达州众议院议员阿尔塞·黑斯廷斯(Alcee Hastings)去年花费纳税人24,730美元租用一辆雷克萨斯(Lexus)豪华混合动力车。俄亥俄州众议员迈克尔·特纳(Michael Turner)花费1,435美元购买了一台数码相机。而美属萨摩亚众议院代表埃尼·法莱奥马维加(Eni Faleomavaega)则购买了两台46英寸的索尼电视机。这些开销都属合法范畴，在账目上也没有不当之处，而且是从美国政府向议员发放的补贴中支取的。按照规定，以办公费用名义购买的设备在议员离任后必须交回众议院或者美国总务管理局(General Services Administration)。不过就在英国议员因为滥用公款──他们将公款花在从糖果到清理壕沟等各种开销上面──而备受诟病之时，对美国议员报销情况的调查显示，华盛顿的民选官员们利用公款消费的记录也十分抢眼。和英国议员所不同的一点是，美国议员不能让纳税人为自己的日常生活开销买单。美国国会规定，由美国财政部给予议员们一定的补贴，以补贴他们的“公务及作为民选代表的开支”。此外，议员们在资金使用的问题上还享有相当的自主权。美国参众两院会定期公布议员们的报销要求，不过该文件不会以电子形式发布。《华尔街日报》仔细查看2008年度上万页的报销记录后发现，大多数议员的开支都与职员工资出差办公室租金办公用品打印文档及发送信件相关。不过我们也发现，议员们的开支还体现在了一系列的商品上面，种类从汽车租赁电器到高端笔记本电脑和价值22美元的手机套，不一而足。加利福尼亚州的民主党籍众议员霍华德·伯曼(Howard Berman)报销了针对他的选举人制作的价值8.4万美元的个性化日历。该日历由美国国会历史协会(U.S. Capitol Historical Society)印刷。伯曼的发言人没有回应置评请求。这一记录还显示，有些议员为了在12月结束前花掉补贴，在2008年的最后几个月报销了大笔的开支──而在那个时候，美国普通民众都在节俭度日，而议员们也在批评底特律汽车厂商的高管们乘坐私人飞机前往华盛顿求援的做法。民主党籍众议员黑斯廷斯和共和党籍众议员特纳是在去年第三季度购买上述商品的。而民主党籍众议院代表法莱奥马维加在去年11月中旬以每台1,473美元的价格购买了两台电视机。上述三位众议员的发言人均未回应置评请求。众议员们每年的政府补贴在130万至190万美元不等。参议员们的补贴则在290万美元至450万美元之间。议员们的补贴差异是因几个因素造成的，比如说，那些老家远离华盛顿的议员们通常都会得到更多补贴，以补助他们更为高昂的旅行开支。如果议员们没有用完他们当年的补贴额度，剩余的部分不会计入下一年度，但这笔钱仍然归财政部所有。我们的评估显示，年末开支的增加不仅仅是因为购买“硬件”，还有一些是为了给助手发年终“奖金”。《华尔街日报》此前的一次分析显示，议员的助手们第四季度的收入和之前的几个季度相比平均上升了17%，奖金一般在第四季度发放。而奖金的数额也从几百美元到1.4万美元不等。管理议员开支的现行制度旨在提供更高的透明度以及加强公众信任。美国国会管理不善的丑闻──其中包括在众议院银行透支而未受处罚以及在国会邮局滥用公款──直接导致1996年众议院推出新的规定，即向议员们发放统一的补贴用来支付各类开支。即便如此，对这些开支进行审核和评估依然困难重重。众议员向首席行政官提交收据和开支记录，而首席行政官负责在每个季度公布长达3,000多页的财务报告。每位议员开支的分类清单大约有6页，包括对每项开支的简短描述开支数目和发生日期。参议员每半年会公布两卷参议员开支的账目记录，只是上面的描述不如众议院公布的这般具体。普通民众可以索要具体收据，但议员们并没有义务提供。官员们称，他们正在探讨发布电子信息的可能性，但是短期内不会实施。“不是所有公众都能够看到这些信息，”无党派的“纳税人常识”(Taxpayers for Common Sense)组织副主席史蒂夫·埃利斯(Steve Ellis)说，“而这些信息是每个选民都应该知道的。”如果参众两院的行政管理者认为一项开支要求有失妥当，他们可以拒绝偿付。众议院首席行政官丹尼尔·比尔德(Daniel Beard)的发言人杰夫·文图拉(Jeff Ventura)说，至于究竟有多少补贴要求是不妥当的，没有正式的记录，但是这种情况比较少见。参议院有关补贴的操作规程大致相同。根据公布的记录，在大多数议员的预算中，工作人员的薪金占了最大的部分。而交通旅行费用则是议员们的另一项大笔支出。因为许多议员要求报销乘坐商业航班或火车往返选区，以及到达选区后驾车或开私人飞机额外运输里程的费用。大约100位议员用他们的公务补贴来租车。其中大多数租用的是美国车，像福特爱仕(Ford Escape)和雪佛兰太浩(Chevy Tahoe)等运动型多功能轿车是最受青睐的选择。第四季度的国会议员支出报销记录被装订成厚厚的三大册。记录显示，路易斯安那州众议员罗德尼·亚历山大(Rodney Alexander)花费两万美元为2009年租用了一辆混合动力的丰田汉兰达(Toyota Highlander)运动型多功能轿车。亚历山大在一次采访中表示，这辆车是为他的选区负责人执行公务使用的。他说，考虑到选区面积和众议院为议员租赁交通工具设定的能效标准，丰田汉兰达是合适的。“我们的选区很大，在路易斯安那州是最大的，”他说，“我们不能只给他租辆自行车”。其他申报的补贴还包括五位数的打印费。拉姆·伊曼纽尔(Rahm Emanuel)今年1月份辞去了伊利诺伊州国会议员的职位，现在成了巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统的办公厅主任。记录显示，伊曼纽尔在第四季度申报的打印费高达3.3万美元。他的一名助手说，那是由于他们当时向选区每户家庭都投递了公务邮件。记录还显示了几例申报高端电子产品的条目。路易斯安那州民主党籍众议员威廉·杰斐逊(William Jefferson)去年9月份花费2,793美元购买了一台松下(Panasonic) Toughbook笔记本电脑，这一型号电脑的目标客户群是军队。大约三个月后，他在12月的换届选举中失利。杰斐逊目前正面临一项与补贴无关的联邦贿赂指控。他的律师拒绝置评。有些议员对一些数额不大的开销也作了说明。宾西法尼亚州民主党籍众议员查卡·法塔(Chaka Fattah)记录了一笔用于购买Liz Claiborne手机套的22美元的开销。法塔的发言人表示，为工作人员配备手机套是惯常做法，而购买的手机套也“不是什么新潮货”。还有一些议员详细列举了从瓶装水防虫剂到办公室绿植等等的报销项目。俄勒冈州民主党籍前众议员达琳·胡利(Darlene Hooley)在报销账目中列举了一笔支付给Plant Tender的81美元的支出。胡利表示，她的办公室尽可能地做到透明化，对每件报销的小东西都予以说明。她补充道，如果其他人也能做到这一点，她申报的补贴项目看起来会好很多。胡利在上届国会换届时退休。有些议员对补贴用途的解释就没有那么详细了。佛罗里达州民主党籍众议员蒂姆·马奥尼(Tim Mahoney)用众议院发放的信用卡支付了他和助手去年9月份花费的1.1万美元机票费用。而对此的说明仅仅是“A/F马奥尼/米切尔(Mitchell)。”马奥尼在一次采访中表示，那行字指代了他两个月内的13次旅行。马奥尼已在众议员换届选举中失利。他被要求上交信用卡的付款收据，并由众议院决定公布多少信息。马奥尼补充说，“作为国会议员，我极其谨慎地努力确保我的办公室严格遵守所有的道德规范及财务报告规定。”还有许多议员并没有用完他们的定额补贴。众议院议长南茜·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)（加利福尼亚州民主党人）在2008年底时还有5.7万美元的补贴结余。众议院少数派领袖约翰·博纳(John Boehner)（俄亥俄州共和党人）有22.8万美元结余。T.W. Farnam / Louise Radnofsky


Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings spent $24,730 in taxpayer money last year to lease a 2008 luxury Lexus hybrid sedan. Ohio Rep. Michael Turner expensed a $1,435 digital camera. Eni Faleomavaega, the House delegate from American Samoa, bought two 46-inch Sony TVs.The expenditures were legal, properly accounted for and drawn from allowances the U.S. government grants to lawmakers. Equipment purchased with office expense accounts must be returned to the House or the federal General Services Administration when a lawmaker leaves office.But as British politicians come under widening scorn for spending public money on everything from candy bars to moat-dredging, an examination of U.S. lawmakers' expense claims shows Washington's elected officials have also used public funds for eye-catching purchases.U.S. politicians, unlike their counterparts in Great Britain, can't bill taxpayers for personal living expenses. The U.S. Treasury gives them an allowance to cover 'official and representational expenses,' according to congressional rules, and the lawmakers enjoy a fair amount of discretion in how they use the funds.The Senate and House release volumes of the reimbursement requests for these allowances, but do not make them available electronically. A Wall Street Journal review of thousands of pages of these records for 2008 expenses showed most lawmaker spending flowed to areas such as staff salaries, travel, office rent and supplies, and printing and mailing.But it also turned up spending on an array of products, from the car leases and electronics to a high-end laptop computer and $22 cellphone holder. Rep. Howard Berman expensed $84,000 worth of personalized calendars, printed by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, for his constituents. A spokeswoman for Mr. Berman, a California Democrat, didn't return requests for comment.The records show that some lawmakers spent heavily in the final months of the year to draw down allowances before the end of December -- a time when U.S. households were paring their budgets and lawmakers were criticizing Detroit auto executives for taking private aircraft to Washington to plead their case for taxpayer funding.Rep. Hastings, a Democrat, and Rep. Turner, a Republican, made their purchases in the third quarter. Rep. Faleomavaega, a Democrat, bought the TVs for $1,473 apiece in mid-November. Spokespeople for the three didn't return requests for comment.House members get a government expense allowance of $1.3 million to $1.9 million a year. Senators get $2.9 million to $4.5 million. The disparity is based on several factors, with lawmakers whose home states are far from Washington, for example, typically receiving more to cover their higher travel expenses.If lawmakers don't seek reimbursement for all of their allowance money for the year, the remainder doesn't roll over to the next year, but stays with the Treasury. The review showed that the increased year-end spending went not only toward equipment but also to fund year-end 'bonuses' to aides. The average House aide earned 17% more in the fourth quarter of the year, when the bonuses were paid, than in previous quarters, according to an earlier Journal analysis. Payments ranged from a few hundred dollars to $14,000.The current system of governing lawmaker expenses was designed to bring the system greater transparency and public accountability. Scandals over congressional mismanagement -- including penalty-free overdrafts at the House bank and spending abuses at the Congressional post office -- led to new House rules in 1996 that consolidated lawmakers' various expense accounts into a single allowance.Even so, the accounts aren't easy to view or parse. House lawmakers submit receipts and records to the chief administrative officer, who publishes a statement each quarter that runs more than 3,000 pages. Each member's expense ledger takes up about six pages and includes a short description of each expense, its amount and the date incurred. The Senate publishes two volumes every six months, with descriptions that are less detailed than those published by the House.Members of the public can request specific receipts, but lawmakers aren't required to provide them. Officials said they are exploring the possibility of publishing the information electronically but have no immediate plans to do so.'This information is not widely available to the public,' said Steve Ellis, vice president of the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense. 'This is stuff that every constituent should be able to know.'The House and Senate administrators can deny reimbursement if they deem an expense request to be inappropriate. Jeff Ventura, spokesman for House chief administrative officer Daniel Beard, said no formal records are kept on the number of claims deemed inappropriate, but that such instances are rare. The Senate operates similarly.Staff salaries are the largest cost in most members' budgets, according to published details. Travel is another big cost center, with many lawmakers claiming funds for commercial air or train travel to and from their district, and for mileage on their cars or personal planes while they are there.Around 100 lawmakers lease cars using their official allowances. The majority lease American cars. Sport-utility vehicles, such as Ford Escapes and Chevy Tahoes, are among the most popular choices.The fourth-quarter congressional expense records, bound in three thick beige-colored volumes, show that Rep. Rodney Alexander of Louisiana paid $20,000 for a 2009 lease on a Toyota Highlander, a hybrid SUV. Mr. Alexander said in an interview that the vehicle was for his state director's official business. The Highlander was appropriate, he said, given the size of his district and House rules setting fuel-efficiency standards for leased vehicles. 'We have a large district, the largest in Louisiana,' he said. 'We didn't want to lease a bicycle for him to ride on.'Other expenses included five-figure printing bills. Rahm Emanuel, who resigned from his Illinois congressional seat in January to become President Barack Obama's chief of staff, recorded a $33,000 printing expense in the fourth quarter. An aide to Mr. Emanuel said it was for an official mailing sent to every household in his district.The records show several examples of spending on high-end electronics.Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, spent $2,793 on a Panasonic Toughbook laptop, which is marketed to the military, in September, about three months before he lost his re-election bid in a December runoff. A lawyer for Mr. Jefferson, who is facing an unrelated federal bribery trial, declined to comment.Some members detail small expenses. The office of Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Pennsylvania Democrat, described a $22 expenditure on a Liz Claiborne cellphone pouch. A spokeswoman for Mr. Fattah said it is standard for staff members to get a holder with their phone and that the pouch was 'nothing fancy.'Other members itemized spending on everything from bottled water to pest control and office plants. The accounts of former Rep. Darlene Hooley, an Oregon Democrat, listed an $81 payment to the Plant Tender.Ms. Hooley, who retired at the end of the last Congress, said her office had 'tried to be as transparent as possible and report every little thing.' Her expenses 'would look a whole lot better if other people had done the same thing,' she added.Other expense explanations bore few details. The accounts for Rep. Tim Mahoney, a Florida Democrat, include an $11,000 payment on his House-issued credit card to cover airfare for him and an aide incurred in September, with the line 'A/F Mahoney/Mitchell.'Mr. Mahoney, who lost his re-election bid, said in an interview that the line represented 13 trips over a two-month period. He is required to submit receipts for the card to the House, which decides how much information to publish. 'As Congressman, I took every precaution to make sure that my office was fully in compliance with all ethics rules and financial reporting regulations,' Mr. Mahoney added.Many lawmakers don't spend their full allocation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) had about $57,000 remaining in her budget at the end of 2008. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) had $228,000.T.W. Farnam / Louise Radnofsky