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May 3, 2012

8th District challenger accuses incumbent of mailing abuse

Howard Greninger The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Dave Crooks, a Democratic candidate for the 8th Congressional District, charges that U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon, a Republican, is wasting taxpayer money on expensive campaign-style mailings and skirting a federal rule preventing campaign mailings 90 days before an election.

Crooks stood Wednesday amidst of a small group of supporters outside Bucshon’s Terre Haute district office at 901 Wabash Ave. pointing to a study from the Evansville Courier & Press, which showed Bucshon ranked as 60th highest among 435 U.S. House members for spending on mass mail postage, printing, production and distribution.

The study ranks Bucshon 62nd on cost per occupied housing unit and 69th on number of pieces distributed between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, the only period for which the U.S. House of Representatives provided mail-only information for individual members, according to the Courier & Press. Bucshon mailed more than 346,000 pieces of mail at a cost of about $139,600, the Courier & Press reported.

While many of those are newsletters, federal law prohibits mailings 90 days before an election. However, Crooks said at least five campaign-style mailings called “499s” — letters or glossy mailers or other taxpayer-funded mail sent in amounts up to 499 pieces — have been sent in the past two months.

The unlimited mailings, which cannot exceed 499 pieces, can be sent to specific groups, such as veterans or seniors.

“It is not just about direct mail and keeping in contact with constituents,” Crooks said. “It is the fact that he has voted twice to end the Medicare guarantee which will force seniors to pay $6,000 more for Medicare, yet he has no problem of pushing the envelope of taxpayer-paid mail. I think he is abusing the privilege.

“At a time when [we are] supposed to be cutting the federal budget, the mailing privileges have gotten a little out of hand. The pieces look like campaign mailings to me. I would be in favor of getting rid of them during election years,” Crooks said.

Bucshon’s spokesman, Matthew Ballard, said Crooks “is resorting to misleading and dishonest political stunts to distract voters from his support of the President's failed, big government policies such as Obamacare.”

“Dr. Bucshon is proud to have communicated with more than 53,000 constituents that contacted his office in 2011. Dr. Bucshon is proud of his record to cut wasteful spending by voting over 175 times to cut more than $3.6 trillion in 2011,” he said.

Ballard said Bucshon has cut his own budget by $165,000 (5 percent) between 2010 and  2011.

“In addition, Congressman Bucshon returned more than $125,000 to the [U.S.] Treasury from his budget in 2011,” Ballard said.

Bucshon’s office in 2012 sent 22 of the 499s, and of those, eight were emailed with no cost, Ballard said.

“We sent a total of 9,186 pieces of mail [in 2012], with 5,705 being sent through the USPS,” Ballard said, which, using first-class, postage would have cost $2,567. The office sent 3,481 through email at no cost.

Some of the 499s when to people in Warrick County after a tornado to provide FEMA information and telephone numbers, Ballard said, while another went to people in Vermillion County who has signed up for information on a flood project for Feather Creek. “We sent them a 499 for an update on the progress of the project. People had to sign up to get that. There is nothing political about that. … We are providing feedback on topic important to them,” Ballard said.

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

 

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