February 26, 2008
New Database Has Congressional Staffers' Numbers
Ever wonder how low-salaried Hill staffers survive in Washington, one of the more expensive cities on the East Coast?
The answer is supplements, supplements, supplements, in the form of "freelancing" campaign work for their bosses or acting as corporate consultants. A new Web site called LegiStorm has compiled the personal financial disclosure forms of staffers required to file them -- those with salaries higher than $111,675 in 2007. Per the site, about 15 percent of the 16,000 congressional aides fit the bill.
According to the "Notable Disclosures" section, Kurt Beckett, chief of staff for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., pocketed $24,000 as a consultant for the senator's 2006 re-election campaign. Kelly Lungren-McCollum, chief of staff for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., was previously a lobbyist/organizer/fundraiser for the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks.
The site is full of other interesting tidbits about congressional staffers. For instance, did you know John Compton, aide to Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., was once a contestant on "Jeopardy!"? Neither did we!
Obviously, LegiStorm won't be well received in some quarters of the Capitol. Many congressional staffers, we suspect, did not sign on to their jobs expecting their personal lives (spouses' jobs are also highlighted) and bank accounts to be publicly dissected.
"I understand that congressional aides want to jealously guard their privacy and I sympathize," says founder and president Jock Friedly in a press release. "However, these are the behind-the-scenes power players who control a $3.1 trillion federal budget and write all the laws of the land. It's hard to argue that they are not important public figures worthy of a little scrutiny."
