Missouri House Republicans: Spend Spend Spend!

Tax & Spend & Giveaway; that's our current batch of Republicans.

First they cut the sick and the poor off Medicaid. Then they give away tax breaks to developers. Finally, it is spend, spend, spend. The Republicans have found $200,000 extra dollars and instead of returning it to taxpayers under the Hancock Amendment they spend it like kids in the candy store.

September 17, 2007

TO: All House Members


RE: House Contingent Fund Postage Credit

Dear House Members:


Effective fiscal management of the House Contingent Fund has resulted in the one-time purchase of an additional $200,000 in bulk-rate postage for use by House members. This will result in an additional $1,227 in bulk-rate postage to be available to each House member for mailings prepared by the House Publications office, separate and apart from your House Member Expense Account. This should help relieve fiscal challenges in your member expense account that have occurred due to recent increases in US Postal Service rates.

Specifically, the House Appropriations office has established a method for separately tracking a $1,227 House Contingent Fund Postage Credit in bulk-rate postage costs for each House member to be incurred from postage purchased through the House Contingent Fund. These funds will not be credited nor deducted from your member expense account, as the funds are separately appropriated. The Contingent Fund Postage Credit will be available to you until such time that you exhaust the $1,227 allotment established in your name.


Because this House Contingent Fund Postage Credit purchase occurred as a bulk-rate postage purchase, members cannot use these funds to supplement a member's need for stamps or metered mail costs nor may the credit be converted to cash. Members may only access this Postage Credit through the distribution of a constituent services mailing that is produced by the House publications office and is authorized to contain the House bulk mail permit stamp. All House Publication Procedures and Guidelines will still apply. Finally, members which currently retain an FY 2007 encumbrance for the purpose of a constituent mailing not yet distributed must first exhaust all FY 2007 funds encumbered in their House Member Expense Account before accessing the House Contingent Fund Postage Credit.

Please do not hesitate to contact Chief Clerk Adam Crumbliss at 1-3829 or Joe Roberts at 1-3972 for additional information on this credit.

Sincerely,


Kenny Jones

Chairman

House Standing Committee on Administration and Accounts

What this means is that with Republicans in the majority, this is just a mini-donation to each candidate (yes, to the D's too). This is incumbent (and majority) protection money. Expect Representatives Will Kraus, Jerry Nolte and Jeff Grisamore to pump out an additional mailing to every voter in the district reminding them of how great they are for not fixing medicare or increasing school funding.

Here's a fiscal conservative challenge to Kraus, Nolte and Grisamore - don't blow the money just because you can. Tell the leadership to use it to restore medicare funding and to increase funding to public schools.