PAUL RETURNS MORE THAN $120,000 TO FEDERAL TREASURY

Washington, DC: For the fifth year in a row, Congressman Ron Paul returned unused funds from his office budget to the federal treasury. The House Finance office tentatively reports that Paul’s office did not spend more than $120,000 of its annual budget allowance for 2001, although the final number likely will be even higher. The unspent amount represents at least 10% of the total budget for Paul’s office, by far the most his office has returned to date.

"I have always made it a policy to spend less than our annual budget, but last year we pledged an extra effort to reduce our expenses," Paul stated. "We reorganized our staff and consolidated office activities, which resulted in huge savings. I don’t believe federal offices, including congressional offices, have to spend every penny of their yearly budgets. I would like to see all of our federal agencies commit to spending 5 or 10 percent less than the previous year to save the taxpayers some money."

"I'm especially pleased that we have been able to cut costs and still maintain a high level of service to our constituents," Paul added. "We once again organized successful job fairs last year. We also continued to assist constituents with a wide variety of problems, from obtaining Social Security or Medicare benefits to dealing with the IRS. Last year was especially trying when it came to constituent contact because the anthrax scare prevented normal mail delivery on Capitol Hill. We used email to stay in touch with our constituents and saved money on mailing costs."