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Members’ Representational Allowance:
History and Usage
Ida A. Brudnick
Analyst on the Congress
December 1, 2009
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R40962
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
c11173008
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Members’ Representational Allowance: History and Usage
Summary
Members of the House of Representatives have one consolidated allowance, the Members’
Representational Allowance (MRA), with which to operate their offices. The MRA was first
authorized in 1996 and was made subject to regulations and adjustments of the Committee on
House Administration. Representatives have a high degree of flexibility to use the MRA to
operate their offices in a way that supports their congressional duties and responsibilities, and
individual office spending may be as varied as the districts Members represent.
The allocation of office spending has been a topic of interest to academics, interest groups,
newspapers, and constituents for many years. Information on individual office spending is
published in the quarterly Statements of Disbursement of the House, which are currently available
in the Legislative Resource Center of the House of Representatives. Following increased interest
in the MRA, the Speaker of the House in June 2009 directed the Chief Administrative Officer to
make future statements available on the website of the House of Representatives. The initial
release, which was made available on November 30, 2009, contains information on spending for
the quarter ending September 30, 2009.
This report provides a history and overview of the MRA and examines spending patterns in the
109th Congress (2005 and 2006), the two most recent years for which all billing is complete and
spending amounts have been finalized, since late-arriving bills may be paid for up to two years
following the end of the MRA year. The data exclude non-voting Members, including Delegates
and the Resident Commissioner. Members who were not in Congress for all of 2005, whether the
Member left Congress prior to the end of the year or entered any time after the beginning of the
session, were also excluded. Similarly, Members who were not sworn in at the beginning of the
109th Congress or did not remain until the end of the second session were not included in the
analysis of 2006. This limitation resulted in data analyzing 431 Members for 2005 and 426 for
2006. Information is provided on total spending and spending for various categories, including
personnel compensation; personnel benefits; travel; rent, utilities, and communications; printing
and reproduction; other services; supplies and materials; transportation of things; equipment; and
franked mail. The data collected demonstrate that, despite variations when considering all
Members, many Members allocate their spending in a similar manner.
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
Establishment of the MRA .......................................................................................................... 2
Subsequent MRA Legislation ...................................................................................................... 3
Appropriations and Allocations: Varying Authorities and Timelines for Adjustment..................... 4
Formula for the Individual MRA.................................................................................................6
Guidelines and Operations .......................................................................................................... 6
“Dear Colleague” Letters Related to the MRA............................................................................. 7
Categories of Spending, Additional Expenses, and Changes in Accounting.................................. 7
Statements of Disbursements: Online Publication ........................................................................ 8
A Recent Example: the MRA in the 109th Congress ..................................................................... 9
Figures
Figure 1. Fiscal Year Appropriations for the Members’ Representational Allowance .................... 5
Figure 2. Expenditures by Category, as a Percentage of Aggregate MRA Spending.................... 10
Figure 3. Dispersion of Spending Across Select Categories: 2005 and 2006.............................. 12
Tables
Table 1. Variation in MRA Authorization Levels in 2005 and 2006 .............................................. 6
Table 2. Distribution of Office-Level Spending, 2005............................................................... 11
Table 3. Distribution of Office-Level Spending, 2006............................................................... 11
Table 4. Distribution of Spending as a Percentage of Authorization: 2005................................. 12
Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 13
Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... 13
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Members’ Representational Allowance: History and Usage
Introduction
Congressional office spending has been a regular topic of interest to academics, interest groups,
newspapers, and constituents for many years. It is a topic frequently mentioned in newspaper
articles that address individual Member spending or generally discuss financial accountability
among elected officials, and it has been examined by watchdog organizations and interest groups
covering congressional spending on internal operations generally.1 A few scholars have also
examined how Members typically spend their office allowances, analyzing spending within
broader theories of representation.2 Individual office spending may be as varied as the districts
Members represent. Factors affecting spending include the tenure or interests of the Member,
levels of casework,3 geography, unexpected events, and even the congressional calendar.
While Representatives have a high degree of flexibility to operate their offices in a way that
supports their congressional duties and responsibilities, they must operate within a number of
restrictions and regulations. The Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA), the allowance
provided to Members of the House of Representatives to operate their DC and district offices,4
may only support Members in their official and representational duties. It may not be used for
personal or campaign purposes. Additional regulations or restrictions regarding reimbursable
expenses may be promulgated by the Committee on House Administration, the Commission on
Congressional Mailing Standards, also known as the Franking Commission, and the Committee
on Standards of Official Conduct, and may be found in a wide variety of sources, including
statute, House rules, committee resolution, the Members’ Handbook,5 the Franking Manual,6 the
House Ethics Manual, “Dear Colleague” letters, and formal and informal guidance.7
This report provides a history of the MRA and overview of recent developments and
expenditures.8 It also demonstrates actual MRA spending patterns in the 109th Congress (2005-
2006) for all voting Members who served for a defined period.9 Spending and practices across
1 For example, the “House Expense Study” by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), available at http://www.ntu.org/
main/misc.php?MiscID=5.
2 Burdett Loomis and Wendy Schiller, The Contemporary Congress, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth,
2006), Ch. 7-8; Richard F. Fenno, Jr., Congressmen in Committees (Boston: Little, Brown, 1973), p. 1; David Mayhew,
Congress: The Electoral Connection (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974), p. 49; and, Gary W. Cox and Jonathan
N. Katz, “Why Did the Incumbency Advantage in the U.S. House Elections Grow?” American Journal of Political
Science, vol. 40, no. 2 (May 1996), pp. 479-481. One study of MRA expenditures during the 106th Congress, for
example, examined the effect of a Member’s standing within the House, time in office, and plans for retirement or
reelection on spending (Garry Young, “Choosing How to Represent: House Members and the Distribution of Their
Representational Allowances,” updated version of a paper presented at the Midwest Political Science Association,
Chicago, April 7, 2005, pp. 15-18, available at http://home.gwu.edu/~youngg/research/
Homestyle%20Choices%20v3.02.pdf).
3 For additional information, see CRS Report RL33209, Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules,
Laws, and Resources, by R. Eric Petersen
4 For additional information on the resources available to Members of Congress, see CRS Report RL30064,
Congressional Salaries and Allowances, by Ida A. Brudnick.
5 Available at http://cha.house.gov/PDFs/MembersHandbook.pdf.
6 Available at http://cha.house.gov/PDFs/franking/franking2.pdf.
7 Available at http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf.
8 The period of study covers the two most recent years for which all billing is complete and spending amounts have
been finalized, since late arriving bills may be paid for up to two years following the end of the MRA year.
9 Information on spending by certain Members was excluded from the observation data and summary findings because
(continued...)
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offices and across time vary, and an examination of multiple Congresses would be required for a
more complete picture of congressional office spending patterns.
Establishment of the MRA
The MRA, which was first provided for 1996, was preceded by multiple allowances for each
Member covering different categories of spending—including the former clerk hire allowance,
official expenses allowances, and official mail allowance. The establishment of the MRA
followed efforts by the House, dating back to the late 1970s, to move to a system of increased
flexibility and accountability for Member office operations.10
In September 1995, the Committee on House Administration authorized the consolidation of
these allowances.11 Subsequently, in November 1995, the FY1996 Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act combined the separate appropriations for personal office staff, official office
expenses, and mail costs into a single new appropriations heading, “Members’ Representational
Allowances.”12 According to the House Appropriations Committee report on the FY1996 bill, the
consolidation was adopted to simplify Members’ accounting practices and allowed Members to
more easily show savings achieved when they did not spend all of their allowance.13 Subsequent
legislation in 1996 further defined the MRA and made it subject to regulations and adjustments
adopted by the Committee on House Administration.14 Additional provisions included in the
FY2000 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act amended language regarding official mail and
repealed obsolete language and terms.15
(...continued)
of characteristics related to the district or status or tenure of the Member. Non-voting Members, including the
Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have been subject to the same expense formula as other Members since
January, 1, 1983 (P.L. 97-357, 96 Stat 1711, Oct. 19, 1982), although the distance from D.C., size of population, or
both, may vary greatly from other Members. Members who were not in Congress for all of 2005, whether the Member
left Congress prior to the end of the year or entered any time after the beginning of the session, were excluded from the
calculations from that year since spending for any portion may not be reflective of allocations for an uninterrupted year.
Similarly, Members who were not sworn in at the beginning of the 109th Congress or did not remain until the end of the
second session were not included in the analysis of 2006. This limitation resulted in data for 431 Members for 2005 and
426 Members for 2006.
10 See, for example, House Administration Committee Orders 35, 38, 39, and 40 (effective May 1, 1983; August 1,
1985; March 15, 1990; and May 8, 1991, respectively). These are reprinted within the notes for 2 U.S.C. 57.
11 Committee Order No. 41, effective September 1, 1995, in notes to 2 U.S.C. 57.
12 P.L. 104-53, 109 Stat. 519 (Nov. 19, 1995).
13 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, 1996, report to
accompany H.R. 1854, 104th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 104-141 (Washington: GPO, 1995), p. 10.
14 P.L. 104-186, 110 Stat. 1719 (Aug. 20, 1996); 2 U.S.C. 57b.
15 P.L. 106-57, 113 Stat. 415 (Sept. 29, 1999).
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Subsequent MRA Legislation
The annual legislative branch or omnibus appropriations acts provide funding for the MRA. Since
its establishment, these acts have also generally contained language requiring amounts remaining
in the MRA “be used for deficit reduction or to reduce the federal debt.”16
In addition to the appropriations language, numerous bills and resolutions addressing the MRA
have been introduced. The majority have been referred to the Committee on House
Administration. This legislation has generally fallen into three major categories:
• Attempts to change the MRA procedure or regulate, authorize, or encourage the
use of funds for a particular purpose.17
• Stand-alone legislation that would govern the use of unexpended balance,
including language to require these funds to go toward deficit reduction.18
16 Annual legislative branch appropriations bills since 1995 include P.L. 104-53, P.L. 104-197, P.L. 105-55, P.L. 105-
275, P.L. 106-57, P.L. 106-554, P.L. 107-68, P.L. 108-7, P.L. 108-83, P.L. 108-447, P.L. 109-55, P.L. 110-161, P.L.
111-8, and P.L. 111-68.
17 For example: H.R. 5598, 110th Cong., To establish a program under which employing offices of the House of
Representatives may agree to reimburse employees for child care expenses, and for other purposes; H.Res. 1186, 110th
Cong., Prohibiting the use of funds in a Members’ Representational Allowance for the long-term lease of a vehicle;
H.R. 6, 110th Cong., Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; H.Res. 879, 109th Cong., Expressing the sense of
the House of Representatives that Members of the House of Representatives should use alternative fuel vehicles in their
professional and personal lives; H.R. 5338, 109th Cong., CLEAR Act; H.R. 2106, 108th Cong., To permit Members of
the House of Representatives to use funds provided in Member’s Representational Allowances to obtain POW/MIA
flags and distribute them to constituents; and, H.R. 1046, 105th Cong., To allow each Member of the House of
Representatives to hire one additional employee, if the employee is hired from the welfare rolls, and to provide that, if
such employment is in the District of Columbia, the jurisdiction represented by the Member may count the employment
toward its welfare participation rate requirement.
18 These include H.R. 2656, 111th Cong., To require amounts remaining in Members’ representational allowances at the
end of a fiscal year to be used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt, and for other purposes; H.R. 272,
110th Cong., To require amounts remaining in Members’ representational allowances at the end of a fiscal year to be
used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt, and for other purposes; H.R. 267,109th Cong., To require
amounts remaining in Members’ representational allowances at the end of a fiscal year to be used for deficit reduction
or to reduce the Federal debt, and for other purposes; H.R. 1273, 109th Cong., To require any amounts remaining in a
Member’s Representational Allowance at the end of a fiscal year to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit
reduction or to reduce the Federal debt; H.R. 297, 108th Cong., To require any amounts remaining in a Member’s
Representational Allowance at the end of a fiscal year to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or
to reduce the Federal debt; H.R. 921, 108th Cong., To require amounts remaining in Members’ representational
allowances at the end of a fiscal year to be used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt, and for other
purposes; H.R. 2412, 108th Cong., To require any amounts appropriated for Members’ Representational Allowances for
the House of Representatives for a session of Congress that remain after all payments are made from such Allowances
for the session to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt; H.R. 47,
107th Cong., To require any amounts appropriated for Members’ Representational Allowances for the House of
Representatives for a fiscal year that remain after all payments are made from such Allowances for the year to be
deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt; H.R. 2414, 107th Cong., To
require any amounts appropriated for Members’ Representational Allowances for the House of Representatives for a
fiscal year that remain after all payments are made from such Allowances for the year to be deposited in the Treasury
and used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt; H.R. 431, 106th Cong., To require any amounts
appropriated for Members’ Representational Allowances for the House of Representatives for a fiscal year that remain
after all payments are made from such Allowances for the year to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit
reduction or to reduce the Federal debt; H.R. 2117, 106th Cong., To require any amounts appropriated for Members’
Representational Allowances for the House of Representatives for a session of Congress that remain after all payments
are made from such Allowances for the session to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or to
(continued...)
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• Bills that would limit or change the growth of overall MRA or adjustment among
Members.19
Appropriations and Allocations: Varying
Authorities and Timelines for Adjustment
Allowances for Members of the House are authorized in statute and are regulated and adjusted by
the Committee on House Administration pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 57 et seq. and House Rule X(1)(j).
The individual MRAs for the 441 Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner are
authorized for periods that correspond closely to the sessions of Congress—from January 3 of
each year through January 2 of the following year. Funding for all MRAs, however, corresponds
to the fiscal year (beginning October 1) and a total amount is provided under a single
appropriations heading, “Members’ Representational Allowances,” within the House account
“Salaries and Expenses” contained in the annual legislative branch appropriations bills.
In addition to the complexity involved in different time frames and split responsibilities—with
the appropriation on a fiscal year determined by the Committee on Appropriations, and the
authorization roughly following the calendar year as allocated by the Committee on House
Administration—the House has indicated that the total authorized level for all MRAs may not
equal the total appropriation due to projections on spend-out rates. The FY1997 report
accompanying the legislative branch appropriations bill, for example, stated:
Many Members do not expend their full allowance. That is why the Committee bill does not
fully fund this account. The frugality of those Members is already projected in the bill
presented by the Committee. Since these prospective savings are already taken in the bill,
they reduce the need for appropriated funds and, therefore, contribute directly to the
reduction in federal spending and consequently lower the projected deficit. If the Committee
bill were to fully fund the Members’ Representational Allowance, the amount appropriated
would have to be increased by $27 million. Thus, the account is underfunded by almost
7%.20
(...continued)
reduce the Federal debt; H.R. 2171, 106th Cong., To require any amounts appropriated for Members’ Representational
Allowances for the House of Representatives for a fiscal year that remain after all payments are made from such
Allowances for the year to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt;
H.R. 866, 105th Cong., To provide that Members of the House of Representatives may return unused amounts from the
Members’ Representational Allowance to the Treasury for deficit reduction; H.R. 80, 105th Cong., To require the return
of excess amounts from the representational allowances of Members of the House of Representatives to the Treasury
for deficit reduction; H.R. 572, 104th Cong., To provide for return of excess amounts from official allowances of
Members of the House of Representatives to the Treasury for deficit reduction; H.R. 376, 104th Cong., To provide for
return of excess amounts from official allowances of Members of the House of Representatives to the Treasury for
deficit reduction; H.R. 26, 104th Cong., To provide for return of excess amounts from official allowances of Members
of the House of Representatives to the Treasury for deficit reduction.
19 For example: H.R. 3189, 111th Cong., Reduction of Irresponsible MRA Growth Act.
20 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, 1997, H.Rept. 104-
657, report to accompany H.R. 3754 (Washington, GPO: 1996) p. 11.
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A similar discussion of the use of prior spending patterns in the consideration of MRA
appropriations levels has been included in numerous other House reports.21 It was also discussed
during a hearing on the FY2009 legislative branch appropriations requests.22
Figure 1 shows the appropriation for the entire MRA account for all Members from FY1999
through FY2009 in current and constant dollars. In current dollars, this is equivalent to an annual
rate of change of 5.08% from FY1999 to FY2010. The appropriation decreased slightly from
FY2005 to FY2006 (-0.84%), while the largest increase (13.15%) was provided in FY2002.
Figure 1. Fiscal Year Appropriations for the Members’ Representational Allowance
(current and constant dollars: FY1999-FY2009)
$700,000,000
$600,000,000
$500,000,000
rity
tho
$400,000,000
u
t A
e
$300,000,000
udg
B
$200,000,000
$100,000,000
$-
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Fiscal Year
Current Dollars
Constant Dollars
Source: CRS calculations based upon annual legislative branch appropriations acts. Constant dollars based on
Consumer Price Index for Al Urban Consumers (CPI-U, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor).
Base year = 1999. The FY2010 appropriation, which was provided in P.L. 111-68, is $660 million.
21 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, 1996, H.Rept. 104-
141, report to accompany H.R. 1854 (Washington, GPO: 1995) p. 12; U.S. Congress, House Committee on
Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, 1998, H.Rept. 105-196, report to accompany H.R. 2209
(Washington, GPO: 1997) p. 10; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch
Appropriations Bill, 1999, H.Rept. 105-595, report to accompany H.R. 4112 (Washington, GPO: 1998) p. 10; U.S.
Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, 2000, H.Rept. 106-156, report
to accompany H.R. 1905 (Washington, GPO: 1999) p. 11; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations,
Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill, 2001, H.Rept. 106-635, report to accompany H.R. 4516 (Washington, GPO:
2000) p. 11.
22 At this hearing, Chief Administrative Office Dan Beard indicated that the appropriation “is usually 92 or 93 percent
of the authorization.” U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch,
Legislative Branch Appropriations for 2009, hearings, 110th Cong., 2nd sess., April 9, 2008 (Washington: GPO, 2008),
pp. 518-519, 528-529.
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Members’ Representational Allowance: History and Usage
Formula for the Individual MRA
The MRA for each Member is set by the Committee on House Administration based on three
components: personnel, official office expenses, and official (franked) mail. The personnel
allowance component is the same for each Member. The office expenses and mail allowances
components vary from Member to Member. The office expense component includes a base
amount; a mileage allowance, which is calculated based on the distance between a Member’s
district and Washington, DC; and an office space allowance, which is based on the cost of office
space in Member’s district. The official mail component is calculated based on the number of
non-business addresses in a Member’s district. The three components result in a single MRA
authorization for each Representative that can be used to pay for official expenses.23 Table 1
demonstrates the variation in authorization levels that resulted from this formula in the 109th
Congress (2005 and 2006).
Table 1. Variation in MRA Authorization Levels in 2005 and 2006
2005
2006
Minimum
$ 1,188,715
$ 1,243,017
Average (Mean)
$ 1,286,699
$ 1,334,836
Maximum
$ 1,524,617
$ 1,574,753
Lower Quartile (25th percentile)
$ 1,253,938
$ 1,301,692
Median (50th percentile)
$ 1,278,173
$ 1,326,126
Upper Quartile (75th percentile)
$ 1,310,371
$ 1,360,279
Source: CRS calculations based on the Statements of Disbursements including expenses for 2005 and 2006.
Notes: The data for 2005 and 2006 excludes non-voting Members, including Delegates and the Resident
Commissioner. Members who were not in Congress for all of 2005, whether the Member left Congress prior to the
end of the year or entered any time after the beginning of the session, were also excluded from the 2005 data.
Similarly, Members who were not sworn in at the beginning of the 109th Congress or did not remain until the end of
the second session were not included in the analysis of 2006. This limitation resulted in data analyzing 431 Members
for 2005 and 426 for 2006.
Guidelines and Operations
Expenses related to official and representational duties are reimbursable under the MRA in
accordance with the regulations contained in this Members’ Congressional Handbook. The
Handbook states that a “Member is personally responsible for the payment of any official and
representational expenses incurred that exceed the provided MRA or that are incurred but are not
reimbursable under these regulations.”24 Certain other expenses, including personal expenses,
greeting cards, alcoholic beverages, and most gifts and donations, are also not reimbursable.
Other limitations on the use of official funds are also contained in House Rule XXIV. The MRA is
23 For the most recent formula, see U.S. Congress, House, Statement of Disbursements of the House, as compiled by the
Chief Administrative Officer, from January 1, 2009, to March 31, 2009, part 3 of 3, H.Doc. 111-26, 111th Cong., 2nd
sess. (Washington: GPO, 2009), pp. 3468.
24 The Members’ Handbook is available at http://cha.house.gov/PDFs/MembersHandbook.pdf.
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not transferable between years, and unspent funds from one year cannot be obligated in any
subsequent year. To assist Members with budgeting, the House makes information regularly
available to each Member regarding the actual amount spent and remaining balances.
“Dear Colleague” Letters Related to the MRA
“Dear Colleague” letters—which are distributed among Members, committees, and officers—
frequently mention the MRA.25 These “Dear Colleague” letters announce changes in the
dissemination of information or the processing of vouchers, elaborate on procedures, remind
Members and staff of guidelines on the use of funds, and ask for support for MRA legislation.
The Committee on House Administration, for example, has distributed “Dear Colleagues”
explaining regulations on the use of the MRA for regular expenses, such as cellular phone and
cable television service, insurance, newspaper subscriptions, warranties, and certain equipment
purchases.26 Other reminders have been sent regarding allowable franking and MRA expenses
for the annual Congressional Art Competition or travel for a Member’s funeral service.27 Many
MRA changes addressed by “Dear Colleague” letters are often annual or administrative, such as
changes to the maximum allowable employee pay rate or efforts to reduce paperwork and
streamline payment processing.28 The letters have also contained explanations of new
regulations, including provisions in the Energy Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140)
requiring future vehicles leased under the MRA to meet low greenhouse gas emitting vehicle
standards set by the EPA.29
Categories of Spending, Additional Expenses, and
Changes in Accounting
House spending is categorized by the standard budget object classes used for the federal
government.30 These include:
25 For additional information on “Dear Colleague” letters, see CRS Report RL34636, “Dear Colleague” Letters:
Current Practices, by Jacob R. Straus.
26 Dear Colleague Letter from Robert A. Brady, Chair of the Committee on House Administration, and Vernon J.
Ehlers, Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, “Processing Year-End Expenses and
Obligations,” December 17, 2007; and Dear Colleague Letter from Robert A. Brady, Chair of the Committee on House
Administration, “Processing Year-End Expenses and Obligations,” December 1, 2008.
27 Dear Colleague Letter from Representative Michael N. Castle, “2009 Congressional Art Competition,” January 28,
2009; and Dear Colleague Letter from Robert A. Brady, Chair of the Committee on House Administration, “Use of
Official Funds for Funeral Travel,” August 22, 2008.
28 Dear Colleague Letter from Jay Eagen, CAO of the House, “Revised Maximum Rate of Pay for Employees in
Member Offices,” January 14, 2003; Dear Colleague Letter from Jay Eagen, CAO of the House, “Consolidated Billing
from the Capitol Historical Society, September 11, 2003; and Dear Colleague Letter from Jay Eagen, CAO of the
House, “Notification of Improvements to Mail Services,” July 14, 2006.
29 Dear Colleague Letter from Daniel P. Beard, Chief Administrative Officer of the House, “Official Wheels Going
Green!” May 19, 2008; and Dear Colleague Letter from Daniel P. Beard, Chief Administrative Officer of the House,
“Low Greenhouse Gas Emitting Vehicle Lease Requirements,” November 20, 2008.
30 This classification system is derived from U.S. Office of Management and Budget, OMB Circular A-11, 2009
edition, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/Circulars_a11_current_year_a11_toc/.
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• personnel compensation;
• personnel benefits;
• travel;
• rent, communications, and utilities;
• printing and reproduction;
• other services;
• supplies and materials;31
• transportation of things; and
• equipment.
The disbursement volumes also contain a category for franked mail.
Certain costs are not included in the MRA and will not be reflected in these totals. The costs
include the salaries of Members32 and certain benefits—including health and life insurance and
retirement—for both Members and staff. Additionally, the range of items that may be covered by
an office, as well as payment ceilings, have changed over time. For example, in a “Dear
Colleague” letter of April 20, 2009, the Committee on House Administration announced that
effective June 1, 2009, the transit benefit program would be administered centrally and available
to all qualifying House employees. Previously, Members could determine whether or not to
provide the transit benefit to their employees from the MRA.33 Those who offered this benefit
would record the expenditure under the personnel benefits category. The maximum authorized
level has also changed a number of times since the establishment of the program. The House
increased the maximum per month from $100 to $105,34 for example, effective January 1, 2005,
immediately preceding the period of study for this report.
Statements of Disbursements: Online Publication
The Statements of Disbursements have been published as House Documents and have been made
available in the Legislative Resource Center. On June 3, 2009, the Speaker of the House directed
the Chief Administrative Officer to begin publishing the statements online.35 The disbursements
for the quarter ending September 30, 2009 were made available on the House of Representatives
website, House.gov, on November 30, 2009.36
31 This may include, for example: office supplies, bottled water, and publication/reference material.
32 Member pay is included in a permanent appropriation (P.L. 97-51; 95 Stat. 966; Sept. 11, 1981).
33 The Transit Pass Transportation Fringe Benefit Program was established the following year with the passage of the
Federal Employees Clean Air Incentives Act (P.L. 103-172, Dec. 2, 1993).
34 Employees may receive either their actual commuting costs or the maximum, whichever is less.
35 Letter from Speaker Pelosi to Chief Administrative Office Dan Beard, June 3, 2009, available at
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1814.
36 The disbursements are available at http://disbursements.house.gov/.
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A Recent Example: the MRA in the 109th Congress
The tables and figures below demonstrate the use of the MRA in practice. This information does
not examine trends across Congresses or analyze the influence of characteristics of congressional
districts.37 However, it does demonstrate various aspects of the MRA, including (1) the billing
cycle; (2) a relative consistency in the overall allocation of MRA resources by category of
spending across the first and second session of the 109th Congress; and (3) similar spending
patterns in many individual offices despite some variations.
The two sessions of the 109th Congress are the most recent years for which all billing is complete
and spending amounts have been finalized, since late-arriving bills may be paid for up to two
years following the end of the MRA year.38 The period for late-arriving bills does not provide
flexibility in the timing of spending, a point noted in the Members’ Congressional Handbook,
which states: “all expenses incurred will be charged to the allowance available on the date the
services were provided or the expenses were incurred” and the “MRA is not transferable between
years.”39 While Members could only obligate 2005 MRA expenditures from January 3, 2005,
until January 2, 2006, the funds remained available for late-arriving receipts through the quarter
ending December 31, 2007. While some bills, particularly from outside vendors, may arrive up to
eight quarters after the end of the MRA year, the vast majority of billing (94% and 95% in 2005
and 2006, respectively) occurred during the session or in the quarter immediately following the
close of the MRA year. For example, the first quarter of 2006 accounted for 83%, or $24.6
million, of all out-year billing for MRA year 2005. Billing for some categories—like personnel
compensation—is almost entirely within the disbursements for the calendar year of study.40 By
including data from all 12 quarters during which bills could be paid, it is possible to provide a
more complete picture of spending patterns.
The largest category of spending in each year of the 109th Congress, accounting for just over 70%
of total MRA spending for all Members (as seen in Figure 2), is for personnel compensation.
This dwarfs the next largest category, “Communications, Rent, and Utilities,” which accounts for
just under 7.5% of MRA spending for all Members in each year. “Equipment,” “Franked Mail,”
“Printing and Reproduction,” and “Travel” each account for approximately 4%-4.5% of spending
by all Members in 2005 and 2006.
37 These may include, for example: the cost-of-living in the districts from which Members are elected; actual
transportation costs to and from the district or around the district; geographical size of the district; number of people
living in the district; or other characteristics of a district that may influence spending patterns, including varying
expectations among constituents for different levels or types of contact.
38 The two-year time period for late receipts mirrors the availability of appropriations of the House and Senate. The
shorter time period for Congress relative to much of the rest of the federal government is discussed in Principles Of
Federal Appropriations Law. This publication states: “For appropriations of the House and Senate, unobligated
balances more than 2 years old cannot be used short of an act of Congress. Instead, obligations chargeable to
appropriations that have been expired for more than 2 years ‘shall be liquidated from any appropriations for the same
general purpose, which, at the time of payment, are available for disbursement.’ 2 U.S.C. § 102a.” United States
General Accounting Office, Principles Of Federal Appropriations Law, Third Edition, vol. I, January 2004
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/3rdEditionVol1.pdf, page 5-76 – 5-77.
39 The Members’ Handbook is available at http://cha.house.gov/PDFs/MembersHandbook.pdf.
40 Since the MRA is available through January 2, but the Statements for the fourth quarter run through December 31,
personnel compensation for January 1 and January 2 in an MRA year will usually appear in the volume for the
subsequent calendar year (January 1-March 31), under a heading indicating that it is billed to the previous MRA year.
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Members’ Representational Allowance: History and Usage
Figure 2. Expenditures by Category, as a Percentage of Aggregate MRA Spending
Source: CRS calculations based on the Statements of Disbursements including expenses for 2005 and 2006.
Notes: “Other” includes the “Miscellaneous,” “Other Services,” and “Personnel Benefits” categories, which
were combined due to their size. The figures only represent spending supported by the MRA. For example, this
does not include government contributions for employee benefits (which are paid through another House
account), the cost of DC office space, and various services provided by other House administrative offices.
Although spending patterns show many similarities between the two years, the data has not been aggregated for
the entire Congress since MRA years are not transferable.
Since aggregate House data may not be typical or representative of any individual office, Table 2
and Table 3 provide a distributional analysis of office level data. Figure 3 presents office level
distributions graphically. As with the figures on House-wide total Member office spending in
Figure 2, however, the office level data indicate that personnel compensation is by far the largest
category of expense for Member offices, although actual spending varied widely.
Data on various categories of spending across offices also demonstrate that, while some offices
incur greater costs in particular areas (as a proportion of total spending for that office), similar
patterns have developed across the House despite the movement over the past few decades toward
additional flexibility. While spending on personnel compensation ranged from approximately
50% to nearly 90% of the individual MRA spending in both years, half of all Members allocated
between approximately 67% and 76% of their total spending to staff. Similarly, the maximum and
minimum percentage of spending on franked mail; travel; and rent, communications, and utilities
varied across Members—from nearly zero to around 15% of total spending—but spending for
many Members was clustered close to the median for all Members in each category.41
41 A mean and median that are equal indicate a “normal distribution,” with data that is not skewed greatly in either
direction by distant observations, or outliers. For the 2005 and 2006 data on these spending categories, the mean and
median were nearly equal, implying close to normal distribution.
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Members’ Representational Allowance: History and Usage
Table 2. Distribution of Office-Level Spending, 2005
(percent of total spending of an individual MRA on select categories)
Rent,
Franked
Personnel
Communications, &
Mail
Compensation Travel
Utilities
Maximum
16% 89% 13%
15%
percentage of
total spending
Minimum
0% 50%
0%
2%
percentage of
total spending
Average
4% 71%
4%
8%
percentage of
total spending
(Mean)
Lower
2% 67%
3%
6%
Quartile (25th
percentile)
Median (50th
4% 71%
4%
7%
percentile)
Upper
6% 76%
5%
9%
Quartile (75th
percentile)
Source: CRS calculations based on the Statement of Disbursements covering spending for 2005.
Table 3. Distribution of Office-Level Spending, 2006
(percent of total spending of an individual MRA on select categories)
Rent,
Personnel
Communications,
Franked
Mail
Compensation Travel & Utilities
Maximum
14%
90%
13%
14%
percentage of
total spending
Minimum
0%
53%
0%
2%
percentage of
total spending
Average
4%
71%
4%
7%
percentage of
total spending
(Mean)
Lower Quartile
2%
66%
2%
6%
(25th percentile)
Median (50th
4%
71% 4% 7%
percentile)
Upper Quartile
6%
76%
5%
8%
(75th percentile)
Source: CRS calculations based on the quarterly Statement of Disbursements covering spending for 2006.
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Members’ Representational Allowance: History and Usage
Figure 3. Dispersion of Spending Across Select Categories: 2005 and 2006
(percent of individual MRA)
Source: CRS calculations based on the quarterly Statement of Disbursements including expenses for 2005 and
2006.
Notes: The shaded area shows the middle range of spending, covering spending that falls within 25% and 75% of
all Members (the interquartile range) in the data for that year. The horizontal line inside the shaded box
represents the median, or the spending level of the middle Member. An equal number of Members spent above
and below this line. The vertical lines and dots indicate spending outside the 25th and 75th percentiles. The dots
(outliers) represent observations that are a distance greater than [1.5 multiplied by the interquartile range] from
the 25th and 75th percentiles.
Members of the House differed in their actual spending as a proportion of the total authorization,
although these percentages as a whole varied little between 2005 and 2006. The distribution for
2005 (Table 4) indicates that 16.24% of Members spent less than 90% of their allocation and
37.59% spent less than 95% of the total amount available in 2005. The findings for 2006 are very
similar. In that year, 13.62% of Members spent less than 90% and 37.79% spent less than 95%.
Table 4. Distribution of Spending as a Percentage of Authorization: 2005
>60% 60-65 65-70 70-75 75-80 80-85 85-90 90-95 95-100
Number of
1 0 0 3 7 17 42 92
269
Members
Percent of
0.23% 0.00% 0.00% 0.70% 1.62% 3.94% 9.74% 21.35% 62.41%
Members
Source: CRS calculations based on the Statement of Disbursements including expenses for 2005. n=431.
Notes: Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
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Members’ Representational Allowance: History and Usage
Author Contact Information
Ida A. Brudnick
Analyst on the Congress
ibrudnick@crs.loc.gov, 7-6460
Acknowledgments
Sarah J. Eckman assisted in the preparation of this report and Susan Smelcer, Eric Petersen, and Amber
Wilhelm assisted in the preparation of the figures.
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