What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 million on Congress.
Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:
Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
The House voted on 18 bills or resolutions which will cost more than $206.4 billion (all costs over five years unless otherwise noted):
Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2010. COST: $2.7 billion (bill also includes revenue increases)
Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2010. COST: UNKNOWN
To provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of National Forest System land in the Frances Marion National Forest in South Carolina. COST: UNKNOWN
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). COST: $0
Real Estate Jobs and Investment Act of 2010. COST: $4 million (bill also includes revenue increases)
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that fruit and vegetable and commodity producers are encouraged to display the American flag on labels of products grown in the United States. COST: $0
Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011. COST: $67.4 billion
Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011. COST: $77.3 billion
To amend title 11 of the U.S. Code to include firearms in the types of property allowable under the alternative provision for exempting property from the estate. COST: UNKNOWN
Honoring the educational significance of Dr. Jane Goodall’s work on this the 50th anniversary of the beginning of her work in Tanzania, Africa. COST: $0
National Manufacturing Strategy Act. COST: UNKNOWN
Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010. COST: UNKNOWN
Making emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and summer jobs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes. COST: $58.9 billion
Recognizing and honoring the freight rail industry. COST: $0
Surface Transportation Earmark Rescission, Savings, and Accountability Act. POSSIBLE SAVINGS.
Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. COST: $0
Recognizing and honoring the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. COST: $0
To amend the Federal Advisory Committee Act to increase the transparency and accountability of Federal advisory committees, and for other purpose. COST: $120 million
The Senate failed to reach cloture on the DISCLOSE Act, a campaign finance bill.
Oh, considering the shape we are in – are these “no cost” items even worth the time? After all TIME = MONEY. Did ‘someone’ on the hill, not take the time to pen these ‘rules’ and put them up for a vote. So, are they REALLY $0 cost. Very sad, that it takes an act of congress for our governement to “express the sense” to display our flag.
Recognizing and honoring the freight rail industry. COST: $0
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that fruit and vegetable and commodity producers are encouraged to display the American flag on labels of products grown in the United States. COST: $0
Honoring the educational significance of Dr. Jane Goodall’s work on this the 50th anniversary of the beginning of her work in Tanzania, Africa. COST: $0
Apparently there are 12 mandatory spending bills that must be considered each year. Traditionally they have all been passed by the August recess. One of them was passed this week. The others have not yet been passed. What in the world were they thinking to consider all the little no-cost bills with that much of a log jam in their work? I know Jane Goodall’s work has been wonderful, but that’s the kind of bill that can be considered at the end of the year, after all the necessary bills have been passed.