Roll Call’s Emily Yehle reported today in an article titled, House May Get Big Boost For Election-Year Mailings, about the large increase in funds being considered for official congressional mailings in the 2010 election year.

According to Yehle, “the House wants to increase Members’ office budgets next fiscal year by almost 15 percent, partly because 2010 is an election year and lawmakers anticipate a surge in franked mail.

Franked Mail is the term identifying a mailing privilege given to congressional members and others designated by law or Postal Regulations. This is called the “Congressional frank” which can only be used for “Official Business” mail.

The stated reason for the large increase in funding for this type of mail in 2010: Members send more mail to their constituents during an election year.

In a recently released budget request, the House Chief Administrative Officer asked appropriators to raise the Members’ Representational Allowances — which fund everything needed to run offices, including salaries, travel and supplies — by $90 million, citing increases “due to the election year cycle.”

Why is this noteworthy? Because increases for most expenses are usually modest from year to year, accounting mostly for inflation and cost-of-living adjustments.  It raises eyebrows when there is an appearance of official mail correlating with electoral activity.

Franked Mail at a glance:

• In fiscal 2008 — an election year — Members spent about $33 million on franked mail; 2007, however, saw about $17.5 million spent.
• The request for fiscal 2010 would set aside about $35 million for official mail - an extra $16 million / an 80 percent increase from fiscal 2009.
• Members have less time to send out official mail during election years, as House rules prohibit any mass mailings 90 days before an election.
• The House Administration Committee authorized a sizable boost to MRAs for 2009.
• Members get a budget allowance, giving them free rein to spend it on whatever office expenses they want. In 2008, the allowances ranged from $1.3 million to $1.5 million, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Yehle points out, “That fact has been a subject of debate for decades, with critics questioning whether incumbents get a leg up on challengers by showering their constituents with tax-funded mailers.”

“It’s an incredibly naked admission that Members of Congress abuse the franking privilege for electoral purposes, even though the rules say they don’t,” said Pete Sepp, spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union. “This sends the worst possible message not only to the taxpayers, but to the electoral system as a whole.”

Finally a direct mail piece to chew on.  This one, from NBC’s First Read Contributor, MARK MURRAY, features an AFL-CIO direct mail piece aimed at none other than John McCain.

According to Murray, the union mailer is targeted to 50,000 targeted swing-vote seniors living in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The mailer hits a few new lines of attack – McCain’s family’s wealth and an inference that he would consider raising taxes. (Yes, you read that right, the AFL-CIO makes a claim that a McCain would raise taxes to fund Social Security!)  The piece also hits old recognizable lines of attack as well – age, and the policy connection to Bush.   

An interesting part of the piece is the numbered footnotes, which bring the reader to a bottom section titled, “check the facts.” I don’t recall seeing the reference/attribution done this way before.

Keep the mail coming.  Great communications medium for longer form and often edgier messaging, that rarely gets on the air. I’m sure this won’t be the last from the AFL-CIO.