GOP Franking Commission staff cry foul

Republicans on the House Administration Committee are bristling under Democratic management.

GOP staffers on the Franking Commission, an arm of the House Administration Committee charged with reviewing mass mailings sent to constituents, are claiming that they have been subjected to inconsistent and ever-changing rules and unable to provide reliable advice to party lawmakers.

{mosads}Republican staffers stopped reviewing mailings last Wednesday, after Democrats delayed reviewing a letter written by the Republicans on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In the meantime, Democrats continued to review mailings.

As a result of the delay, many offices experienced longer than normal waits for their mass mailings to be sent to their constituents. GOP and Democratic staffers huddled on Monday afternoon to discuss ways to address the GOP’s complaints. Republicans agreed to end their strike of sorts, while Democrats promised more regular consultations to work through past and future differences, said aides from both parties.“Until this afternoon, [Republican] staff had ceased approval on advisory requests because congressional offices were being subjected to inconsistent and arbitrary interpretations of existing rules,” Salley Collins, the Republican spokeswoman, said.

The Franking Commission is composed of three Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Michael Capuano (Mass.), Brad Sherman (Calif.) and Artur Davis (Ala.), and Republicans Reps. Vernon Ehlers (Mich.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Tom Price (Ga.).

Staffers from both sides review more than 100 mailings each week. Contested mailings are reviewed and then either approved or denied by the lawmakers.

Franking, or government-subsidized mail, is a privilege lawmakers use to keep in touch with their constituents. Critics of franked mail dismiss it as nothing more than campaign literature. But Congress restricts members from sending out more than three mass-mailings per year and bans mailings to constituents 90 days before a lawmaker’s name will appear on a ballot.