Posted on 08/08/2011 10:47:47 AM PDT by markomalley
(CNSNews.com) Then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spent $17,945.17 in tax dollars last year for food and beverage for his office purchased from the Corner Bakery in Washington, D.C., a pastry and coffee shop chain.
By comparison, then-House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) spent $16,176.04 for food & beverage and bottled water services provided by Joe Ragans Coffee, a Washington, D.C.-area coffee service and office-supply company. (See related story here.)
The expenditures were reported in the quarterly report published by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of RepresentativesStatement of Disbursements of the Housethat itemizes the expenditures of all House leadership offices, membership offices and committees. (See chart - Rep.Hoyer Expenditures)
As majority leader, Hoyer made 87 total expenditures for food and beverage in calendar year 2010 at Corner Bakery--a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch items and also has a catering service.
Representative Hoyers average purchase from the Corner Bakery was $208.66. His largest purchase was $466.50 on April 22, 2010 and the two smallest were for $72.70 on June 15, 2010 and July 16, 2010.
Hoyers 87 separate purchases from the Corner Bakery in 2010 work out to an average of one purchase for every fourth day of the 365-day year. The records, however, show that Hoyer sometimes made multiple purchase from the Corner Bakery on the same day. And, of course, Congress usually does not work on the weekends and is sometimes not in session.
Members of Congress are given an annual allowance to pay salaries and cover the costs of running their offices. Leadership officesfor the speaker, the majority leader and the minority leader--are given larger amounts than regular members offices. Hoyers allowance for his leadership office in fiscal 2010 (which ran from Oct. 1, 2009 to Sept. 30, 2010) was $2.5 million. (The speakers allowance in fiscal 2010 was $5.1 million and the minority leaders was $4.6 million.)
During calendar year 2010, the Hoyers majority leaders office spent a total of $3,078,194.73.
Corner Bakery--which has 119 locations nationwide--describes itself as a casual neighborhood gathering place and offers both dine-in and catering services, the latter of which account for 20 percent of its sales, according to its website
The Members Congressional Handbook, published by the House Administration Committee, says: Members and employees may be reimbursed for food and beverage expenses incidental to an official and representational meeting that includes a person(s) who is not a Member or employee of the House.
Members and employees may not be reimbursed for food and beverage expenses related to social activities or social events (e.g. hospitality, receptions, entertainment, holiday or personal celebrations, and swearing-in or inauguration day celebrations). Members and employees may not be reimbursed for the cost of alcoholic beverages.
According to the House Administration Committee (which governs how members use their office budgets and approves their expense reports), leadership offices such as then-Majority Leader Hoyers are not governed by the committees regulations as a matter of practice.
Instead leadership office budgets are covered by House ethics rules and statutes, which, according to the Administration Committee, permit buying food and beverages.
House Rules and statutes address the use of official funds and apply to House Leadership offices, Administration Committee Spokeswoman Salley Wood told CNSNews.com. They also permit such purchases.
When asked what the $17,945.17 in tax dollars Hoyer spent at the Corner Bakery went to buy, Hoyer Spokeswoman Katie Grant told CNSNews.com that it was food for breakfast and lunch meetings.
The office provides food and beverages at large breakfast and lunch meetings, as is common practice among leadership offices, Grant said in an email.
Dough for donuts.
Power has it privileges, you can sponge freely off the tax payer.
Isn’t that less than one single trip for Madam Speaker Pelosi? And how many trips did Pelosi take during her tennure?
None of these people, RAT or RINO have a clue about how their constituents live. They consider these expenditures “normal” and that’s the real problem. Someone tell me how they are any different than say Robert Mugabee? I just imagine he thinks he’s doing the “right thing” for his “people” too.
Here is my question. Why don’t the states pay the expenses for their own representatives? Why does the Federal Govt pick up these expenses in the first place? It would make a lot more sense for TX or CA or wherever to pay for their own slippery codgers. I’m sure that stuff would get looked at a lot harder if it were coming out of state coffers. Or if not, the could blame themselves anyway.
Meanwhile the rest of us are brown bagging it. A pox on both the parties. They are both corrupt.
That’s a lotta dough!................I bet he’s a loafer............
Or remove the House post office from the Capitol, and put in a Dunkin’ Donuts..
Let the staff buy their own Starbuck’s whatever.
Nobody should be paying for it except those placing the orders. All the pols and their staff are paid very well. When I order out I don’t send the bill to my neighbor.
We sure as hell do...
You can afford a bag..?
Wow.
-PJ
I’m interested in taking a closer look at Jerry Wadlers(D-ny) purchases on my dime..
‘Free’ items are all I can afford... :-)
I mean that every cost for the representatives (except the building itself) should be borne by the state. Everything. Why should the people of Mississippi support any of the costs for the representatives of say Texas or California? The shouldn’t. If the people of those states want to keep their representatives like kings or paupers it’s their own business.
Before deciding to run forPresident, Barack Obama was giving something like 1.1% on an income of over a million.
If he’s just some private citizen, that’s his business.
But when he’s lecturing the American people about “paying their fair share,” he can just go shut up. I never heard of a person giving 1.1% on a $50,000 income, k let alone on over a million.
BarackOlypse is a Hypocritical Cheapskate, who just annoys me to death every time he opens his mouth.
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