The State - News from Feb. 25, 1986

Charging that newsletters account for 92% of all Congressional mailing costs, Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) proposed Congress could save at least $100 million a year by eliminating funding for them. The fiscal 1987 budget proposes $139.7 million for Congressional mailings this year, and in a letter to other senators, Wilson questioned spending for newsletters at a time when Congress is under severe budget restraints imposed by the Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction law. “What kind of example are we setting by such unrestrained spending?” he said, adding the newsletters often resemble “a re-election campaign piece paid for by taxpayers’ dollars.” The most recent three-month report on spending for newsletters and letters showed Wilson spent $12,000 and Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), who is seeking reelection, $1.6 million.