American Democracy Legal Fund files complaint on Congressman Todd Young for misusing his congressional franking privileges.
INDIANAPOLIS – In the six years Congressman Todd Young has been in office, he has spent more than all the other congressional representatives from Indiana on franked mail, using taxpayer money to promote his political career.
The numbers are eye-popping: Congressman Young has spent $275,600 in taxpayer dollars on self-promoting mailers and paid more than $300,000 to two consulting firms for these political-style mailers.
While Congressman Young likely hoped his taxpayer funded political mailings would stay out of the limelight, this past Friday, American Democracy Legal Fund filed a complaint to the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, accusing Congressman Young of misusing his congressional franking privileges.
The type of rampant abuse of this privilege at taxpayers’ expense by Young is why Evan Bayh is proposing a congressional reform plan that would eliminate franking privileges for mass mailings, saving taxpayers millions of dollars each year.
The American Democracy Legal Fund – a group led by longtime Democratic strategist Brad Woodhouse – has filed a complaint to the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, accusing Indiana Rep. Todd Young, a Republican Senate candidate, of misusing his congressional franking privileges.
Young spent more than $275,600 during his six years in Congress, including more than $123,751 in his first term, according to a Morning Consult analysis. Research has shown lawmakers often use more franking during their first terms than subsequent ones, a strategy used by many lawmakers that helps bolster their recognition with voters back home and could solidify their political position.
In Woodhouse’s opinion, Young abused the franking privilege extended to him and other members of Congress by focusing more on political content, such as highlighting his opposition to Obamacare, rather than informing voters of legislative action.
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