Rep. Connolly Abuses Franking Privilege

The House franking privilege allows sitting congressmen to send out mail to constituents free of postage. Lawmakers use the franking privilege to send legislative updates and/or personal notes following up on recent requests and contacts. But some take the privilege and blur the lines between “official business” and campaign materials.

Representative Gerry Connolly continues to push the boundaries of this sweetheart privilege. Earlier this year Connolly’s office sent out a mailer to female constituents praising Connolly’s efforts to help women. The mailer clearly reads “OFFICIAL BUSINESS” in the top left corner. But this mailer should not be considered “official business;” it was clearly campaign material.

From WVTF.org

At just under $220,000, Northern Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly spent the most of any Virginia lawmaker using the privilege. He says the system has good checks in place because a bipartisan group of lawmakers have to sign off on the communications. “I mean there are pretty strict rules about what you can put in a printed piece of material,” Connolly argued. “They are subject to review and censorship and you can’t ignore that or else it’s at your own personal expense.”

Ok, then let’s breakdown the mailer from this summer that only targeted women.

The first update that specially mentions legislation is “Connolly helped passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act.” That bill was signed into law in 2009. That was 9 years ago. How on Earth is mentioning his support for a 9 year old law an update?

The next piece of legislation mentioned is HR 1022, which Connolly is listed as a cosponsor. Ok, that one seems legit as it is a current piece of legislation in the 115th Congress.

The third and final piece of information is that “Connolly supports funding for Planned Parenthood.” That is not a legislative update at all. Support for Planned Parenthood is a popular biennial campaign talking point from Democrats running for office. And on Connolly’s mailer there is no specific mention of any action taken as a congressman on this issue.

So two out of three pieces of information on the mailer are clearly campaign material and not “official business.”

Also, the mailer was addressed to a female constituent who is married to a male constituent. The mailer was not addressed to both husband and wife. That’s important. The targeting here is clearly meant to drive turnout of female voters, especially since Republicans do well with married suburban women. A piece of “official business” should be addressed to all constituents, not just the ladies.

Based on the information on the mailer and who the target audience is, the mailer in question (pictured below) should not have been listed as “official business.” That mailer is a piece of campaign material designed to help the incumbent in his re-election campaign. The House Ethics Committee should take a look at Rep. Gerry Connolly’s clear abuse of the franking privilege.


.

Share on social media