In the race for freshmen members of Congress to get their offices fully operational, new spending data shows that Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) was the tortoise, Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) the hare.
Ferguson spent more than an average member of Congress during the first quarter on official expenses, despite having to start the Congress by staffing up from nothing. He spent nearly 67 percent faster than Correa during the first quarter.
A full-paced start could mean that Ferguson is more prepared to meet the needs of constituents. But a slower pace of spending might have a bright spot for Correa too: He has little risk of overspending his allowance this year and might be able to boast about providing a healthy refund to government coffers when the year is done.
Freshmen spent an average of 16.96 percent of their 2017 budgets in the first quarter, compared to 19.81 for all representatives. Ferguson, who led the freshman class in first-quarter spending with 20.33 percent of his allowances spoken for, joins Reps. Tom O'Halleran (D-Ariz.) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) as the first three freshmen to crack the 20-percent mark, according to a new LegiStorm analysis of House budget allowances.
Correa, meanwhile, has spent only 12.12 percent of his annual budget. Fellow freshmen Anthony Brown (D-Md.), Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.) and Donald McEachin (D-Va.) have likewise spent under 13 percent of annual budgets, leaving ample cash for future travel, mailings, staff hires and other expenditures.
