Franked mail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Franked mail is the American political ability to send mail by one's signature rather than by postage and dates back to the seventeenth-century English House of Commons.
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[edit] History
Congress members would spend much time "inscribing their names on the upper right-hand corner of official letters and packages" until the 1860s for the pupose of sending out postage free mail. Yet, on January 31, 1873, the Senate abolished "the congressional franking privilege after rejecting a House-passed provision that would have provided special stamps for the free mailing of printed Senate and House documents." Within two years, however, Congress began to make exceptions to this ban, including free mailing of the Congressional Record, seeds, and agricultural reports. Finally, in 1891, noting that its members were the only government officials required to pay postage, Congress restored full franking privileges. Since then, the franking of congressional mail has been subject to ongoing review and regulation.
[edit] Currently
Franked mail is officially approved by six U.S. representatives on the bipartisan Franking Commission, which determines whether or not tax-funded mail meets guidelines. The Commission recently included Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who resigned his seat on November 3, 2006 after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in connection to his involvement with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. [1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- History of Franked Mail from the Senate.gov
- E050 Official Mail (Franked) from the United States Post Office
- infoplease
- US Codes
