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Congresswoman Duckworth Re-Introduces Legislation to End Congressional Franking Privilege


Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)-April 16, 2015. Today, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) and Congressman Rob Woodall (R-GA) re-introduced H.R. 1873, the “Ending Special Mail Privileges for Congress Act of 2015.” This bipartisan legislation would end an outdated federal law, known as the Franking privilege, that allows Members of Congress to send mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS) without prepayment. First adopted by the Continental Congress in 1775, the Franking privilege allows Congressional offices to then reimburse USPS for the mail it sends. In 2010 and 2011, reports state that more than $45 million dollars of Franked mail was sent by U.S. House Congressional offices.

“As Members of Congress, we lead by example,” said Duckworth. “This legislation will take an important step in making Members of Congress accountable to the taxpayers. I am pleased that Members on both sides of the aisle are working together to hold Congress to the same standards as our constituents.”

“The franking privilege is an outdated practice that should have stopped long ago,” said Rep. Woodall.  “To finally eliminate it once and for all would be a small but historic step towards rebuilding trust between the American people and their representatives in Washington.  I’m thrilled to see this commonsense bill already receiving such broad, bipartisan support from across the country, and look forward to building on its success.”

H.R. 1873 was first introduced last year in the 113th Congress with support from a diverse group of government watchdog organizations. They include the following: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW); Common Cause; National Taxpayers Union; Public Citizen; Prof. James Thurber, Dept. of Government, American University; Taxpayers Protection Alliance; U.S. PIRG; Council for Citizens Against Government Waste; and the National Legal and Policy Center. 

Source: duckworth.house.gov


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