Indiana's U.S. House members can pay for flyers with taxpayer dollars. Here's who spent the most

Indianapolis Star

13 hours ago

The messages arrive in Hoosier mailboxes. They pop up as text messages, emails and television or radio commercials. Others show up as billboards in Northwest Indiana or newspaper ads in Richmond.
"Congresswoman Spartz has also been working with President Trump and DOGE to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and codify their findings," reads text on a March postal mailer from U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz's office.
"Under Biden's policies, millions of illegal aliens entered our country," a separate December 2024 text from U.S. Rep. Jim Baird reads.
These congressional communications to Hoosiers aren't political messages from campaigns. Instead they are paid for through members' allowances, which are funded by taxpayers.
Both past and present members in Indiana's U.S. House delegation have taken advantage of this centuries-old congressional privilege known as franking, which allows members to send unsolicited mail or share communications, like text messages or emails, with constituents. U.S. Senators can disseminate franked materials, too, but there are different rules and Indiana's senators over the last 10 years have not used it.
Indiana's nine House members since 2020 have annually spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on just franked mail items, according to quarterly House financial disbursement reports reviewed by IndyStar. That isn't a full picture of their spending, though, because that number doesn't include any additional money spent on text messages or billboards. They typically spend more during election years despite rules requiring 60-day blackout periods with no office communications before elections.
While the core purpose of franking is to communicate with Hoosiers, it has also been viewed as a controversial privilege. The ability to regularly send messages to constituents on taxpayer dimes provides an advantage to incumbents over election challengers, experts say. Plus, while a bipartisan House group reviews and approves materials, the rules on franking allow representatives to disseminate political critiques and messages that can sometimes appear like campaign ads.
In Indiana, where congressional primaries are typically the more competitive races, a politically relevant advertisement or mail piece from a congressional office can widen the recognition gap between an incumbent and potential competitors, experts said. In some cases, photos included in franked materials can also provide a recognition boost to a representative's family members.
"Everyone's trying to get their name out and there's a lot of noise to break through," said Mike Wolf, the chair of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne. "Members of Congress, at any chance they can, need to do that."
U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, who had the tightest primary election in Indiana during the most recent cycle, disclosed the most spending on franked mail in both 2023 and 2024 of any Hoosier in Congress, enabling her to use taxpayer dollars to remind voters of her priorities.
The costs of sending franked materials are reported in the House's quarterly disbursement reports, which shows records of how members used their allowances.
In 2024, Indiana's House delegation collectively spent more than $600,000 on franked mail to Hoosiers. Digital communications or advertisements also cost money but, because they are not categorized the same as mail, they're harder to identify in the quarterly disbursement reports. For example, U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin submitted 50 advisory opinion requests for franked materials in 2024, the most of Indiana's House members. But Houchin's requests were largely for text messages to constituents.
Members of Indiana's delegation received between about $1.8 million and $1.95 million in member allowances last year to cover franking and other office expenses.
The biggest spenders on franked mail in 2024, according to the reports, were Spartz, Baird and Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, who all cracked six figures. Spartz in 2024 reported spending $196,000 on franked mail with Baird spending nearly $174,000 and Mrvan spending $104,000, according to an IndyStar review of the financial reports. (A spokesperson for Spartz told IndyStar the actual spend was higher, but did not respond to a question as of press time about the discrepancy between the two numbers.)
"Our office budgets approximately $300k annually to send three-four quarterly update mailers to stay in touch with our constituency, with the Q4 annual update mailer size adjusted based on available funds," the spokesperson said. "We generally provide updates on constituent services, town halls, and key policy developments in D.C."
U.S. Rep. André Carson, a Democrat, and former Republican U.S. Reps. Jim Banks, Greg Pence and Larry Bucshon in 2024 all spent less than $1,000 on franked mail. Pence and Bucshon did not seek reelection in 2024 and Banks successfully ran for U.S. Senate.
Before a text message arrives on someone's phone or a newsletter in someone's inbox, representatives must get those materials approved by the House Communications Standards Commission. This bipartisan group signs off on franked communications and issues advisory opinions to ensure the materials follow House rules on restrictions like timing and content of the materials.
Franking is a bipartisan affair in Indiana. But the content and type of materials released to Hoosiers between 2024 and the first seven months of 2025 largely depends on the member of Congress directing the messages, according to an IndyStar review of submitted materials. The current delegation for the 119th Congress has submitted 82 requests for advisory opinions to the House Communications Standards Commission between Jan. 1 and July 31, which span from texts to emails to mailers.
Franked materials by Indiana's seven Republican members at times contained more political messaging, but they still were approved for distribution by the bipartisan House Communications Standards Commission.
In 2025, most of the communication from Indiana's Republicans included supportive messages about President Donald Trump's agenda, including the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.'
Who represents Indiana in Congress: Who represents Indiana in Congress? Who you need to know and how to contact them
In 2024, though, many of the materials sent by Republicans criticized the Biden administration and former President Kamala Harris. For example, U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym sent a postal and digital mailer to constituents in the 2nd Congressional District about his vote to impeach former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The postal mailer features a large grainy photo of Mayorkas alongside a headline about Yakym's impeachment vote.
'Every state—including Indiana— has become a border state under Secretary Mayorkas' tenure,' Yakym is quoted in the mailer. 'My vote to impeach Secretary Mayorkas is an important step in holding the Biden Administration accountable and ensuring we end this crisis and stand up for America's sovereignty by restoring Law and Order to the southern border.'
Yakym's mailer was approved in February 2024 under a provision of federal code that allows elected officials to tell the public about "matters of public concern" from a past or current session of Congress.
'Impeachment, for example, that's an action of Congress,' said Danielle Caputo, senior legal counsel with the Campaign Legal Center. 'They're allowed to talk about that and their perspective on what they did and why it matters to their district.'
Members from both parties have also spent dollars on billboards in past years. Both Mrvan in 2024 and Baird in 2023 and 2024 submitted advisory opinion requests for billboards advertising their congressional offices in their districts.
Materials shared in 2024 by Indiana's two Democrats, Mrvan and Carson, featured fairly tame political messaging.
In addition to billboards, Mrvan in 2024 sent mailers to constituents about his legislative actions, including support for law enforcement.
Carson in 2024 released a television ad about his support for former President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law and another on how to apply for a service academy through his office. Mrvan has yet to submit requests for advisory opinions on franked messages in 2025 while Carson prepared radio ads for a youth job fair held in March.
Just as they did in the 18th century, franked materials do serve a purpose for Indiana's elected officials, who seek to inform the public about actions in Washington, D.C.
"The original basis of the frank was very simple," said Matt Glassman, a professor with the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University. "Members of Congress need to communicate with their constituents, and in 1795 had to be able to write letters to people and post things and tell them what was going on. That's still an important service, right? Getting the message out about what's going on in Congress, how you voted, is a public service."
While the rules for what they can spend taxpayer money on allows a vast amount of options to be shared with their constituents, ethics experts told IndyStar it's worth it for members to consider if their message helps the broad spectrum of people that live in their district.
'All of those individuals, regardless of their politics, regardless of who they voted for are legally represented by this elected member of Congress," said Donald Sherman, the executive vice president and chief counsel for Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington. "So I think mailers should be written with them in mind, not just catered to a Republican primary voter or a swing voter.'
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [e-mail].