Wendy Sherman: “I rise to address just one aspect of the funding resolution. I have come to this floor before with my concerns that mass…”

“I rise to address just one aspect of the funding resolution. I have come to this floor before with my concerns that mass mailings have been sent by a particular committee. We as Members of the House have constituents that we need to keep in touch with, but a committee has as its constituents only the members of that committee. A committee does not answer to the whole people of the United States; it answers to this House and to its Members. This funding resolution makes it clear that the mass mailings of any committee cannot exceed over $5,000 in postage in any year. Basically, that means no effort to reach out to an entire community, an entire congressional district, with an ideological message. For that reason, I want to commend the ranking member and the Chair for putting to rest that issue, at least for as long as this funding resolution is operative. I would also point out that it is my understanding that this funding resolution calls for any mass mailings sent by a committee to go to the Franking Commission. I want to thank the leader of our party for appointing me to that commission, where I will serve with our ranking member (Ms. Millender-McDonald) and others. So I am confident that the mailings of committees will be limited to committee business, will not be so massive as to try to affect the views of an entire congressional district, and will follow the rules of the House as to manner and content.…”