Hominid Views

As Goldy reports, Washington State 8th congressional district Congressman, Sheriff Dave Reichert, has seriously pushed the limits of the House franking rules with his recent mailing.

What the heck is franking? From Wikipedia:

Franking within a political context is generally seen as the privilege to send mail for free, typically granted to certain elected officials by the government. An authorized person exercises the franking privilege by causing his or her signature or a facsimile thereof to be added to the upper right corner of a letter or parcel in lieu of a postage stamp.

[...] Today, the U.S. President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives as well as certain congressional officials such as the superintendent of documents are allowed to send franked mail to their constituents….

In countries where franking is practiced, the privilege has long been considered an important tool for keeping elected officials in touch with their constituents, but its use is also frequently criticized as a way for officials to campaign for reelection and otherwise glorify themselves at the expense of the taxpayer. Officials are usually not given a blanket right to send mail for free, but instead are subject to oversight and regulation and sometimes must comply with budgetary restrictions and disclosure requirements. The entity responsible for such oversight and regulation in the U.S. House of Representatives is the Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, colloquially known as the Franking Commission.

Common uses of the franking privileges include replies to letters sent by constituents, and so-called “constituent mailings,” brief newsletters intended to keep citizens apprised of goings-on in the legislative body to which the member belongs.

Goldy shows the back of the multi-page fold-out mailing from Reichert, sent on behalf of Congress. Here is a copy of the actual franking, along with the Congressional seal, notices that this is a Public Document, it is for Official Business and that the document was prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense.

The document has a paucity of material that could be considered “voter education.” Instead, it is filled with photo-ops of Reichert, and includes quotes of people and organizations praising him. Below the mailing label it says “Congressman Dave Reichert secures funding for the 8th district” The rest of the page (over the fold) is a map with text balloons showing places for which Reichert got funding. For example, one balloon says “$1.8 million for Coal Creek Parkway.” No mention of the legislation, the purpose of the money, the significance. Nothing. It is just a demonstration of money that “Reichert brought in.”

Goldy also shares his suspicions that the mailings were sent out illegally close to an election (within 90 days). Voters are receiving them in the mail this week, whereas the cutoff mailing date was June 20th.

No doubt, there will be many complaints about this mailing to the House Franking Committee. Here is how the complaints will be handled:

The [House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards] shall afford to the person who is the subject of the complaint due notice and, if it determines that there is substantial reason to believe that such violation has occurred…, opportunity for all parties to participate in a hearing before the Commission. The commission shall issue a written decision on each complaint under this subsection not later than thirty days after such a complaint has been filed or, if a hearing is held, not later than thirty days after the conclusion of such hearing. Such decision shall be based on written findings of fact in the case by the Commission. Such findings of fact by the Commission on which its decision is based are binding and conclusive for all judicial and administrative purposes, including purposes of any judicial challenge or review. Any judicial review of such decision, if ordered on any ground, shall be limited to matters of law. If the Commission finds in its written decision, that a serious and willful violation has occurred or is about to occur, it may refer such decision to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives for appropriate action and enforcement by the committee concerned in accordance with applicable rules and precedents of the House and such other standards as may be prescribed by such committee.

Oh…great. So, if Reichert’s mailing is, in fact, a serious violation of the franking rules, the Commission files a complaint with the do-nothing Doc Hasting’s House ethics committee.

Great…so, unless the voters raise a fuss—you know, by firing his ass come November—it look like Reichert will get away with using our money to print his campaign propaganda.

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