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Indianapolis Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana's U.S. House members can pay for flyers with taxpayer dollars. Here's who spent the most
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
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'We are deeply concerned.' Protesters urge Indiana leaders to refocus on state issues
CARMEL – Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside U.S. Sen. Todd Young's Carmel office July 20, calling on Indiana's Republican congressional leaders to invest in local communities rather than promote the administration's goals of arresting and deporting migrants. Two similar protests were happening concurrently outside the offices of U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz in Noblesville and U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym in Mishawaka, with protesters calling on the representatives to prioritize issues that they said would benefit Hoosiers directly. The Indiana State AFL-CIO, Indivisible Central Indiana, and the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance organized these protests in response to the federal government's passage of the massive bill, known as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which includes tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and budgetary reductions to Medicaid. "Across Indiana, we have hundreds of Hoosiers standing together to say we want our taxpayer dollars to be used for housing, health care and education, and not to be used for masked ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers who terrorize our communities and frankly, kidnap our friends and families," said event organizer Stuart undefined. IndyStar reached out to Young's, Spartz's and Yakym's offices for comment. Although Young did not provide a direct response to the July 20 protest, he did provide his reasoning for voting for the "One Big, Beautiful Bill." 'The One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides important resources to support and modernize our military. It also will significantly invest in border security to build more of our border wall and hire more border patrol officers," Young said in a statement to IndyStar. Spartz's press secretary provided a statement to IndyStar's question regarding the demonstrations. "The Congresswoman has been committed to fixing our broken health care system since her time in the State Senate," said Spartz's press secretary in an email to IndyStar. "We've made some progress, but much more needs to be done to improve transparency, affordability, access, and outcomes – and to stop material fraud and abuse." At the time of publication, Yakym had not provided a comment. Concerns of fear growing in migrant communities Mora said this issue runs deep for him and others who work in immigration law. He has witnessed growing fear among Indiana's migrant communities concerning increasing militarization of immigration enforcement across the country. This was on display earlier in the month, when protesters outside of a Ventura County farm in Camarillo, California, were hit with pepper balls and tear gas as federal agents were conducting an immigration sweep on Glass House Farms, one of the state's largest cannabis farms. More: Families divided, rage, tear gas: How the Glass House raid went down That immigration raid led to the arrest of more than 350 people, including George Retes, 25, a U.S. Army veteran, while he was on his way to work. Retes was released from jail three days later. The raid also led to the death of Jaime Alanís Garcia, 56, a farm worker who fell 30 feet off a building and suffered "catastrophic" injuries to his head and neck. Although Indiana has not experienced an immigration raid at this scale, community leaders shared that many in migrant communities are afraid that they may potentially be picked up off the street and deported, whether rightfully or not. Many also shared concerns about Indiana and Indianapolis leaders increasing participation with national immigration enforcement. "Part of our concern is with the use of our jails (being) used as a detention center for ICE," said Rev. Carolyn Higginbotham with the Central Christian Church Disciples of Christ. "We are deeply concerned about the way in which our tax dollars are being spent and we do not want them used to warehouse folks for ICE. What we want is for them to invest in things that are actually going to make our city a better home for everyone and a place where people feel safe." Earlier this year, the Marion County Adult Detention Center started being more heavily used as a place where the federal government temporarily jailed immigrants picked up in Indiana and neighboring states. This came after the federal government ran into capacity issues at its existing immigration detention center, as 84 of the 181 detention facilities exceeded their contractual capacity on at least one day during October 2024 through mid-April 2025, according to a report by nonprofit TRAC. Included on that report was the Clay County Justice Center in Brazil, Indiana. The jail is contracted to house up to 100 migrants, but appears to have an average daily population of about 242 people through mid-April, according to TRAC data. More: Marion County Jail is housing ICE detainees. Here's why that concerns some Camp Atterbury being turned into a detention center Demonstrators also called on Indiana leaders to stand against the federal government's plan to turn the Camp Atterbury military post near Edinburgh into a temporary detention center. This news was announced on July 15 in a letter written by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlining a plan to use Camp Atterbury as temporary housing for migrants being held by the Department of Homeland Security. "The terrible irony (is) that this is the place where we welcomed Afghan refugees a couple of years ago, and now those same people could be targeted for removal through the same facility," Higginbotham said. Many at the protest said they believed that Indiana's state government leaders should shift their focus from federal issues to more localized problems, like the growing divide among low-income families wanting to improve their children's education, or the housing affordability crisis emerging in cities like West Lafayette and Carmel. "Our message today is one of hope," said Sayra Campos, a representative from the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance. "We don't need more policing. We want investments in housing, health care, education, jobs with dignity and permanent protections for all Hoosiers." Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@ follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Anti-ICE protesters urge Indiana leaders to focus on state issues Solve the daily Crossword
Indianapolis Star
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
'We are deeply concerned.' Protesters urge Indiana leaders to refocus on state issues
CARMEL – Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside U.S. Sen. Todd Young's Carmel office July 20, calling on Indiana's Republican congressional leaders to invest in local communities rather than promote the administration's goals of arresting and deporting migrants. Two similar protests were happening concurrently outside the offices of U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz in Noblesville and U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym in Mishawaka, with protesters calling on the representatives to prioritize issues that they said would benefit Hoosiers directly. The Indiana State AFL-CIO, Indivisible Central Indiana, and the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance organized these protests in response to the federal government's passage of the massive bill, known as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which includes tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and budgetary reductions to Medicaid. "Across Indiana, we have hundreds of Hoosiers standing together to say we want our taxpayer dollars to be used for housing, health care and education, and not to be used for masked ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers who terrorize our communities and frankly, kidnap our friends and families," said event organizer Stuart undefined. IndyStar reached out to Young's, Spartz's and Yakym's offices for comment. Although Young did not provide a direct response to the July 20 protest, he did provide his reasoning for voting for the "One Big, Beautiful Bill." 'The One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides important resources to support and modernize our military. It also will significantly invest in border security to build more of our border wall and hire more border patrol officers," Young said in a statement to IndyStar. Spartz's press secretary provided a statement to IndyStar's question regarding the demonstrations. "The Congresswoman has been committed to fixing our broken health care system since her time in the State Senate," said Spartz's press secretary in an email to IndyStar. "We've made some progress, but much more needs to be done to improve transparency, affordability, access, and outcomes – and to stop material fraud and abuse." At the time of publication, Yakym had not provided a comment. Mora said this issue runs deep for him and others who work in immigration law. He has witnessed growing fear among Indiana's migrant communities concerning increasing militarization of immigration enforcement across the country. This was on display earlier in the month, when protesters outside of a Ventura County farm in Camarillo, California, were hit with pepper balls and tear gas as federal agents were conducting an immigration sweep on Glass House Farms, one of the state's largest cannabis farms. More: Families divided, rage, tear gas: How the Glass House raid went down That immigration raid led to the arrest of more than 350 people, including George Retes, 25, a U.S. Army veteran, while he was on his way to work. Retes was released from jail three days later. The raid also led to the death of Jaime Alanís Garcia, 56, a farm worker who fell 30 feet off a building and suffered "catastrophic" injuries to his head and neck. Although Indiana has not experienced an immigration raid at this scale, community leaders shared that many in migrant communities are afraid that they may potentially be picked up off the street and deported, whether rightfully or not. Many also shared concerns about Indiana and Indianapolis leaders increasing participation with national immigration enforcement. "Part of our concern is with the use of our jails (being) used as a detention center for ICE," said Rev. Carolyn Higginbotham with the Central Christian Church Disciples of Christ. "We are deeply concerned about the way in which our tax dollars are being spent and we do not want them used to warehouse folks for ICE. What we want is for them to invest in things that are actually going to make our city a better home for everyone and a place where people feel safe." Earlier this year, the Marion County Adult Detention Center started being more heavily used as a place where the federal government temporarily jailed immigrants picked up in Indiana and neighboring states. This came after the federal government ran into capacity issues at its existing immigration detention center, as 84 of the 181 detention facilities exceeded their contractual capacity on at least one day during October 2024 through mid-April 2025, according to a report by nonprofit TRAC. Included on that report was the Clay County Justice Center in Brazil, Indiana. The jail is contracted to house up to 100 migrants, but appears to have an average daily population of about 242 people through mid-April, according to TRAC data. More: Marion County Jail is housing ICE detainees. Here's why that concerns some Demonstrators also called on Indiana leaders to stand against the federal government's plan to turn the Camp Atterbury military post near Edinburgh into a temporary detention center. This news was announced on July 15 in a letter written by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlining a plan to use Camp Atterbury as temporary housing for migrants being held by the Department of Homeland Security. "The terrible irony (is) that this is the place where we welcomed Afghan refugees a couple of years ago, and now those same people could be targeted for removal through the same facility," Higginbotham said. Many at the protest said they believed that Indiana's state government leaders should shift their focus from federal issues to more localized problems, like the growing divide among low-income families wanting to improve their children's education, or the housing affordability crisis emerging in cities like West Lafayette and Carmel. "Our message today is one of hope," said Sayra Campos, a representative from the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance. "We don't need more policing. We want investments in housing, health care, education, jobs with dignity and permanent protections for all Hoosiers."
Indianapolis Star
17-07-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Will Victoria Spartz run for reelection in 2026? Her campaign says it's ready for it
Indiana U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz's fundraising efforts in the first half of 2025 show signs her campaign could be preparing for another reelection bid next year after the last-minute decision to run for another term in 2024. A senior adviser for Spartz's campaign, in fact, told IndyStar he 'fully expects her to announce she is running for re-election,' although a formal legal announcement would come later and Indiana's official candidate filing period is early next year. 'The Congresswoman's campaign is fully geared up for when she formally announces her filing for re-election and looks forward to protecting the conservative Republican majority in Congress,' campaign adviser Dan Hazelwood said in a statement. Spartz reported raising nearly $400,000 in the first six months of 2025, including more than $265,000 between April and June. Those numbers, while not the highest fundraising Spartz has reported in a nonelection year, paint a far different picture than two years ago after Spartz announced she would not seek another term representing the 5th Congressional District. Spartz's campaign in the first six months of 2023 raised just over $160,000 and reported no fundraising contributions between April and June that year after the public news of her initial retirement plans. Spartz, of course, changed her mind and won a divisive nine-person Republican primary in May and cruised to a third term during the general election in November. Former Noblesville state Rep. Chuck Goodrich, her closest competitor in that primary contest, has not publicly indicated any plans to run again and reported no federal campaign contributions so far in 2025. Loan repayments make up more than half of Spartz's campaign expenses so far in 2025. The congresswoman loaned her campaign $700,000 ahead of last year's primary. Spartz was first elected in 2020 to represent Indiana's 5th District, which covers Hamilton County and portions of Madison, Grant, Delaware, Tipton and Howard counties. Political analysts have considered the 5th Congressional District a safe Republican seat following redistricting in 2021. Indiana's primary election is May 5, 2026. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at
Indianapolis Star
02-07-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz is one of holdouts blocking Trump's 'big beautiful bill' from floor
U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz is one of the GOP holdouts blocking President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" from proceeding to the House floor for final passage. A handful of hardline fiscal conservatives have been threatening to block the bill through procedural votes that lead up to the tax bill's passage, many of them critical that the bill is not cutting spending by enough. Spartz said on X in the late afternoon of July 2 that while she will end up supporting the bill itself, she plans to vote against the "rule vote," a final procedural vote that determines the terms of the debate on the floor. "I'll vote for the bill, since we need to make it happen for our economy & there are some good provisions in it," she wrote shortly before 5 p.m. "However, I will vote against the rule due to broken commitments by (House Speaker Mike Johnson) to his own members." "I'm on Plan C now to deal with the looming fiscal catastrophe," she continued. This is a key agenda bill for Trump: It makes permanent his 2017 tax cuts, drastically cuts spending on Medicaid and SNAP and boosts funding for border security. It's been controversial in each chamber, passing by only one vote each time. The fiscal hawks take issue with the fact that the Senate version of the bill may add more to the federal deficit than the House's version. Live updates: House in limbo on vote over Trump's sweeping tax bill package The "broken commitments" Spartz is referring to is Speaker Johnson previously telling caucus members, according to Spartz, that he wouldn't bring a bill to the floor that adds to the deficit beyond a certain amount. The Senate version, she wrote July 1, exceeds that agreement by about half a trillion dollars. Trump and his team, according to media reports, are working behind the scenes to bring some lawmakers around.
