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1 (August 26, 2004)

handle is hein.crs/crsuntaaijp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS20700 Updated August 26, 2004 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Congressional Franking Privilege: An Overview John S. Pontius Specialist in American National Government Government and Finance Division Summary The congressional franking privilege, which allows Members of Congress to send official mail to their constituents at government expense, dates from 1775, when it was approved by the First Continental Congress. The frank (the Member's autographic or facsimile signature), is used instead of stamps. Congress, through legislative branch appropriations, reimburses the U.S. Postal Service for the franked mail it handles. During the past 15 years, franking reform efforts reduced franking expenditures by 83 % from $113.4 million in FY1988 to $19 million in FY2003. This report provides an overview of the congressional franking privilege, its costs, and reform efforts. It will be updated as legislative actions occur. See also CRS Report RS20720, Congressional Mail: History of the Franking Privilege and Options for Change, and CRS Report RS20671, Official Congressional Mail Costs, by John Pontius. The franking privilege, which allows Members of Congress to send official mail at government expense, has its antecedent in 17'h century Great Britain; the British House of Commons instituted it in 1660. The United States practice dates from 1775, when the First Continental Congress passed legislation giving its members mailing privileges so as to communicate with their constituents.' Congress continues to use the frank to fulfill the perceived public interest in facilitating official communications from elected officials to the citizens whom they represent. It covers communications relating to the official and representational duties of Members. These communications include letters regarding legislation and casework, 1 The word frank is derived from Middle English, meaning free or generous, and originally from the Latin francus, also meaning free. In contemporary practice, the Member's signature, called the frank, appears in the upper right-hand corner of envelopes containing official mail from that Member. It is recognized by the U. S. Postal Service as the equivalent of a postage stamp or a metered mail mark. John Samuels Pontius, Franking, in The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, 4 vols. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995), vol. 2, pp. 883-888. Congressional Research Service **** The Library of Congress

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