Duluth News Tribune
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U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-North Branch, had money leftover in his Congressional office expense account at the end of the year so he gave it back to the House and, ultimately, taxpayers.

Cravaack returned $90,000 in leftover expense allowance from 2011. The money is usually spent for things like staff salaries, office supplies, postage and phone bills and even travel expenses back to House members’ home districts.

The amount returned amounts to about 7 percent of Cravaack’s $1.3 million office budget for 2011.

Lawmakers have broad discretion in spending the money. Many members of Congress split the leftover money at year’s end among their staff, giving aides a little year-end bonus. But Cravaack opted to hand the money back with the intent it go back into the treasury and save taxpayers a little money.

“Those bonuses have added up to quite a bit for the staff of some senators. … But Chip did the right thing and gave it back,” said Michael Bars, Cravaack’s spokesman.

Expense budgets vary depending on several factors, including how far away the lawmaker lives from Washington. A 2010 House compensation study found that 77 percent of 133 offices surveyed gave bonuses. That’s down from 89 percent in 2009 and 92.3 percent in 2006, according to the House Chief Administrative Office.

Both House members and senators had to cut their expense budgets in 2011 (5 percent for the House, 3 percent for the Senate). House expense budgets will be cut another 6.4 percent in 2012, with Senate budgets down another 6.3 percent.

A News Tribune search Friday found several news reports of lawmakers giving staff bonuses with expense money, others returning the money to the Treasury and some lawmakers who did both.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., returned $472,279, about 6.6 percent of her $3.1 million budget, according to her staff. The News Tribune did not receive information from Sen. Al Franken’s office Friday evening.

The Burlington Free Press reported that Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, gave 29 staffers bonuses ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, totaling $138,830. Leahy, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, also gave bonuses to 25 committee staffers, totaling $112,048. But Leahy also gave back 11.7 percent of his $3 million expense budget to the treasury.