Government Reform
I strongly believe that one of Congress’ most important responsibilities is to conduct vigorous oversight to ensure that laws are being faithfully carried out, that taxpayer’s dollars are well spent, and that allegations of abuse are being thoroughly investigated.
I believe Congress must be transparent about its business and I work to provide up to date information on my own activities, office expenditures, and appropriations requests. I keep an online schedule which is updated every day to reflect the day's activities and outline the activities that are confirmed for the days ahead. This week’s schedule, as well as an archive of old schedules, is available here.
Below is my financial disclosure report, a document which details the source, type, amount, and value of my income. This information is filed with the Clerk of the House by all Members of Congress.
Congressman Sander Levin Financial Disclosure
Tax Returns
I have made public my 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 tax returns.
Travel Expenses
The Clerk of the House also keeps records on Member travel and legal expenses. This information is available here.
Campaign Expenses
Information about my campaign fundraising and expenditures is filed with the Federal Election Commission and is available here.
Congressional Office Transparency
Congressional offices are appropriated a certain amount of money each year to operate their offices depending in part on that District’s distance from Washington, D.C. The 12th District amount for 2011 is $1.41 million. This money has to pay for all expenses including staff salaries, office rent, equipment, telephone bills, supplies, mailings, newsletters and travel between Michigan and D.C. There are rules as to what may be spent on official activities and each mailing or email to an audience larger than 500 people must be approved by the bi-partisan Congressional Standards Mailing Franking Commission under the Committee on House Administration.
All expenses for each office, as well as each committee, are available here. To make my office expenses more accessible, I have included my most recent quarterly expense report below.
Download Congressional Office Expenses
Voting Rights
The right to vote and to have your vote count is fundamental. Voting is the essential right that helps protect all our other rights. Without free and fair elections open to all eligible voters, our system of representative government grinds to a halt.
Over the course of many decades, the United States has expanded the right to vote and knocked down barriers. When our nation was founded, voting was reserved to white, male property owners. In 1860, the 15th Amendment was ratified prohibiting federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” In 1921, the franchise was extended to women. In 1971, the legal voting age was lowered to 18.
Project Specific Funding Requests or “Earmarks”
It is absolutely essential that the process by which project specific funding is decided be transparent and open to scrutiny. I have for years gone beyond reporting requirements by listing each and every project I request funds for on this web site. The projects I requested funding for in the most recent appropriations bill are available below. There is currently a two year moratorium on earmarks during the 112th Congress.
- Timeline of Earmark Reform under the Democratic Congress
- 2011 Appropriation Project Requests
- 2010 Appropriation Project Requests
- 2010 Water Project Requests
- 2010 Transportation Project Requests
Program and Language Requests
In addition to project-specific requests, Members may also submit either "program" or "language" requests to the House Appropriations Committee. Program requests are recommendations for funding of specific federal programs at specific levels. Language requests are those that seek specific bill or report language that does not direct funding to a particular entity but encourages, urges, or directs some type of action by an agency.
For Fiscal Year 2012, I initiated three program requests: to sustain funding for the Drug Free Communities Program, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and the Commodity Supplemental Food program.
• Letter in Support of Drug Free Communities
• Letter in Support of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
• Letter in Support of Commodity Supplemental Food Program
• Complete list of FY2012 Program and Language Requests
Lobbying Reform
When Democrats gained control of Congress in 2007 we passed a landmark rules package which included provisions to end the tight-knit relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers, bring transparency to lobbyists’ activities, and deny taxpayer-funded pension benefits to Members of Congress convicted of corruption.
Furthermore, the Obama Administration instituted tough new restrictions on the role of lobbyists in the executive branch. This included a rule that political appointees must be two years removed from lobbying on an issue they could be working on for the government.
Government Transparency
I welcomed President Obama’s call for a more transparent government. The day after his inauguration President Obama ordered agencies to take affirmative steps to make information public and not simply wait for and respond to FOIA requests. Additionally he has encouraged government agencies to use modern technology to give citizens access to pertinent information. I encourage you to review some of the resources currently available.
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- Treasury Department’s Financial Stability Plan
- Earmarks Details
- Federal Program Results
- Where Taxpayer Dollars are Spent
- 2010 Financial Report of the US Government
- Federal Data Aggregator
(Updated February 8, 2013)