I’ve written several times here about the direct mail and robo-call campaigns that Peter Roskam is running on our dime to scare us into opposing healthcare reform and climate change legislation. I got to thinking the other day that I, as a taxpayer, ought to be able to find out just how much of our tax money Roskam is spending on these campaigns.
So I did some poking around. I see that the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives has a public disclosure section on its website and there is a page on disclosure regarding franked mailings. There I read the following:
In accordance with House Rule 24, Members must submit a sample or a description of the contents of mass mailings to the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards and obtain the approval of the commission before the mass mailing can be sent. Copies of materials approved by and filed with this Commission are available.
Individuals requesting access to these records must fill out a form, which will be retained. Materials from January 1996 to the present, including advisory opinions, are available for viewing and photocopying.
It looks from the site as though you have to go to Washington and fill out a form to see the information. None of it is available on-line. Not very convenient. And what I am reading here doesn’t say anything about the costs of mailings so I’m not sure this would be very helpful.
Anyone know how to get hold of this kind of information?
Of course it would make things a lot simpler if Peter Roskam would post the information on his House website. How about it Peter? I don’t like your voting record at all but I think it is fair to say you’ve been pretty good about transparency. So will you share this information with your constituents?
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[...] month, I asked in this space if there were a way we could find out how much money Peter Roskam is spending on [...]