TAXPAYER FUNDS GOING POSTAL CONGRESSMAN WANTS EXTRA COMMITTEE SPENDING ON MAIL STAMPED OUT.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman has picked a political fight with a powerful Northern California Republican over mailings paid for with public funds, calling them blatantly political and a waste of taxpayer money.

But Republicans say the Sherman Oaks lawmaker should curb his own use of publicly funded mail - some $90,000 a year - before criticizing others for the practice.

While the skirmish has drawn the ire of GOP leaders, Sherman also has found new support from conservative organizations that previously held him in low esteem.

The National Taxpayers Union, which has given Sherman seven ``F'' marks and two ``Ds'' on his voting record going back to 1997, wrote a long letter encouraging the congressman's recent attempt to limit House committees to spending $25,000 a year on postage.

Likewise, Citizens Against Government Waste, a D.C.-based watchdog group dedicated to cutting government spending - which gave Sherman a lowly 17 percent out of 100 rating last year - also is backing his proposal.

``Given the historic patterns of committee expenditures, a $25,000 annual limit on postage for each committee is more than adequate for any legitimate communication needs,'' NTU spokesman Pete Sepp wrote.

At issue is about $500,000 worth of taxpayer-funded postage that Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Stockton, chairman of the House Resources Committee, requested over a two-year span to send newsletters across the nation touting his committee's work. The committee received and spent about $50,000 - three times more than any panel has ever spent on mailings.

While members of Congress routinely send mail at taxpayer expense to their constituents, the practice is virtually unheard of for policy committees that technically have no constituents.

Sherman charged that since Republicans control all the House committees, they have an unfair advantage in swaying voters by sending mail that Democrats cannot. But he also said that if Democrats win back a majority in November they also should not be allowed to use committees to send out mass-mailings.

Pombo's fliers praise specific members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike. But one lawmaker prominently featured in a flier that went out to Arizona residents was a local Republican congressman facing a tough re-election battle.

Congress' free-mail privilege, known as franking, prohibits members from any mailing that ``specifically solicits political support for the sender or any other person or political party, or a vote for any candidates for any public office.''

Sherman contends Pombo's mailing was essentially campaign literature for an embattled Republican. Moreover, he said, the newsletters are a waste of taxpayer money.

``These are Republicans. They're supposed to be fiscally responsible,'' Sherman said. ``The idea that we would vest in committee chairmen this new, powerful and expensive taxpayer-paid weapon is a bad thing for this House.''

Pombo praised his mailings as an important way of telling people outside the Beltway what politicians are planning to do to their air, land and water.

As for charges that the mailings are politically motivated, Pombo told Sherman on the House floor: ``We sent out pieces in the Democratic districts, in the Republican districts. Everything we sent out had all of the names of members of the Committee on Resources on it. It was all done in a bipartisan fashion.''

Indeed, a handful of committee Democrats who were mentioned in some of the mailings voted against a recent Sherman procedural measure to limit the amount committees can spend. The measure failed 163-205.

Pombo also noted that Sherman sent out a dozen notices last year regarding town hall meetings in his district, spending a total of $90,000 in public funds on mailings.

``We think it's a little bit hypocritical for him to make some of these claims,'' Pombo's chief spokesman, Brian Kennedy, said of Sherman.

David Williams, vice president of policy for Citizens Against Government Waste, said his group is concerned about committees using free mail for political purposes and believes they should be stopped.

Williams was not, however, optimistic that Sherman will be successful in his quest.

``There is very little support for anything right now that's going to upset the apple cart,'' he said.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com