BEAUFORT, S.C. – As Congressman Joe Wilson campaigned around South Carolina on a taxpayer-funded “cut the fat” tour, Marine Corps combat veteran Rob Miller challenged Wilson on his pork spending and hypocrisy.  Wilson has a long history of wasting taxpayers’ money, including giving himself pay raises, traveling on the taxpayer’s dime, and using tax dollars for campaign mail.

“We cannot balance our budget and create jobs with Joe Wilson’s wasteful Washington spending,” Miller said. “It’s bad enough that Wilson used taxpayer money to bailout Wall Street and raise his own pay five times, but talking about cutting fat from government while campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime is just plain hypocrisy.”

A review of Wilson’s Congressional Office expenditures shows he has spent $332,823.73 in taxpayer money on franked mail – political, campaign style mailers [Library of Congress, Wilson Congressional Office Budgets, 2002-2010].

According to Congressional Quarterly, Wilson has taken 29 Congressional Delegation trips at a cost of at least $99,767.  The cost of military air transportation, when used, is not included in the cost [Congressional Quarterly, accessed 4/12/10].

In 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002, Wilson voted to give himself salary increases ranging from $3,100 to $5,100 [H.R. 5576, Vote #261, 6/13/06, Washington Post, 6/14/06; H.R. 3058, Vote #327, 6/28/05, Chicago Tribune, 6/29/05; H.R. 5025, Vote #451, 9/14/04, Chicago Tribune, 9/15/04; H.R. 2989, Vote #463, 9/4/03, Seattle Times, 9/5/03; H.R. 5120, Vote #322, 7/18/02, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 7/19/02].

Wilson uses taxpayer dollars to lease a Ford Escape, costing over $920 a month and over $11,000 annually.  Wilson’s taxpayer-funded car expenses are the 9th highest in Congress [Seattle Times, 3/12/06].

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