Representatives are authorized the privilege of sending mail as franked mail in
the conduct of official business to assist them in their duties as Members of
Congress. Requirements on the use of the frank and mass mailings are established
in statute and the regulations and rules of the House. Use of the frank is the personal
responsibility of each Representative.
The franked mail postage allowance is based on a formula in which the rate of
a single piece of first class mail is multiplied by three, and the resulting figure is
multiplied by the number of non-business addresses in a Representative's district.
The Committee on House Administration set the 2007 official mail allowance for
each Member at 45% of the calculation based on the above formula. The
allowance may be used to pay the costs of first, third, or fourth class franked mail.
It may not be used to pay for certain specified mailing costs, for example, express
mail.
Since the official mail allowance is combined with the personnel and office
expenses allowances, there is no limit on the amount of money a Member can spend