Despite the significant reduction in costs, critics continue to raise concerns about the franking privilege. In particular, mass mailings—franked mailings of 500 or more substantially similar pieces of unsolicited mail sent by individual Members during the same session of Congress —have come under increased scrutiny as critics argue that the vast majority of franked mail is unsolicited and, in effect, publicly funded campaign literature. At the direction of the Committee on House Administration, in January 2009 the House began reporting the volume and cost of individual mass communications instead of mass mailings. Mass communications include all unsolicited mailings or communications of substantially identical content distributed to 500 or more persons, regardless of media. Methodology

		Data

Data on Member mass mailings and mass communications were compiled using the quarterly Statement of Disbursement s of the House , which report the number of pieces of mail sent by each Member of the House in mass mailings (1997-2008, 2011-2015) and mass communications (2009-2015) during the preceding quarter and the total postage cost of the quarter's mass mailings or mass communications. Examples of mass communications include radio, television, newspaper, and Internet advertisements; automated phone calls; mass facsimiles; and mass emails distributed to a non-subscriber emailing list. Between 1997 and 2013, an annual average of 81% of House Members sent at least one mass mailing. As shown in Table 2 , House Members sent a calendar year average of 573.1 million pieces of mass communication, costing an average of $43.8 million. Between 2009 and 2011, an annual average of 92% of House Members sent at least one mass communication. Among Members who sent at least one mass communication, the average calendar year number of pieces of communication sent by a Member was 1,407,364 at a cost of $107,431. Mass Communications (Not Including Mass Mailings), 2012-2015

House Members sent 1.11 billion pieces of mass communication in 2012, at a total cost of $7.4 million, 801 million pieces of mass communication in 2013, at a total cost of $5.7 million, 623 million pieces of mass communication in 2014, at a total cost of $5.1 million, and 568 million pieces of mass communication in 2015, at a total cost of $5.7 million. Comparing Mass Mailings and Mass Communication Volumes and Costs

As shown in Table 1 and Table 2 , the average number of pieces of mass communication sent annually between 2009 and 2011 was about 500% greater than the average number of annual pieces of mass mail sent between 1997 and 2008. Quarterly Variation

		Mass Mailings, 1997-2008

Although the overall amount and cost of House mass mailing remained relatively constant between 1997 and 2008, significant variations occurred within these years. Although mass mail costs do rise in the quarters prior to the pre-election prohibited period (as shown in Figure 1 ), the structure of the fiscal calendar is also important in creating large disparities between election-year and non-election-year mail costs. Thus comparisons of fiscal year mass mail data tend to overstate the effect of pre-election increases in mail costs, since they also capture the effect of the December spike in mail costs. First, the franking privilege is financially wasteful and, second, the franking privilege gives unfair advantages to incumbents in congressional elections. Proponents of the franking privilege argue that the frank allows Members to fulfill their representational duties by providing for greater communication between the Member and individual constituents.
Despite significant reductions in congressional mail postage costs over the past 25 years, critics continue to raise concerns about the franking privilege. While proponents of the franking privilege argue that the frank allows Members to fulfill their representational duties by providing for greater communication between the Member and individual constituents, critics argue that it is both financially wasteful and gives an unfair advantage to incumbents in congressional elections. In particular, mass mailings have come under increased scrutiny as critics argue that the vast majority of franked mail is unsolicited and, in effect, publicly funded campaign literature.
This report provides an analysis of House Member mass mailings (1997-2008, 2012-2015) and mass communications (2009-2015). A mass mailing is defined by statute as a franked mailing of 500 or more substantially similar pieces of unsolicited mail sent in the same session of Congress. Mass communications include all unsolicited mailings or communications of substantially identical content distributed to 500 or more persons, regardless of media. Examples of mass communications include radio, television, newspaper, and Internet advertisements; automated phone calls; mass facsimiles; and mass emails distributed to a non-subscriber emailing list.
Between 1997 and 2008, House Members sent 1.34 billion pieces of mass mail at a total postage cost of $224.5 million, producing a calendar-year average of 111.6 million pieces of mass mail costing an average of $18.7 million (Table 1). Most Representatives sent mass mailings. During each calendar year 1997-2008, an average of 84% of House Members sent at least one mass mailing. Among Members who sent at least one mass mailing, the average annual number of pieces of mail sent by a Member was 303,270 at a postage cost of $50,834.
Although the annual number of pieces of mail sent remained relatively constant between 1997 and 2008, significant quarterly variations occurred within each Congress (Figure 1). These expenditures continue a historical pattern of Congress spending less on official mail costs during non-election years than during election years (Table 3). However, analysis of quarterly data on Member mass mailing costs indicates that, due to the structure of the fiscal year calendar, comparisons of election-year and non-election-year mailing data tend to overstate the effect of pre-election increases in mail costs, since they also capture the effect of a large spike in mass mailings from the fourth quarter of the previous calendar year.
At the direction of the Committee on House Administration, in January 2009, the House began reporting the volume and cost of individual mass communications instead of only mass mailings. Between 2009 and 2011, House Members sent 1.27 billion pieces of mass communication at a total cost of $131.5 million, producing a calendar-year average of 573.1 million pieces of mass communication costing an average of $43.8 million (Table 2). During 2009 and 2010, an annual average of 92% of House Members sent at least one mass communication.
Beginning with the second quarter of calendar year 2011, the House began separately reporting the volume and cost of both mass mailings and mass communications. Since 2012, House Members have sent 3.1 billion pieces of mass communication, at a total cost of $23.9 million, and 183.7 million total pieces of mass mail, at a total cost of $70.5 million.
See also CRS Report RL34188, Congressional Official Mail Costs; CRS Report RS22771, Congressional Franking Privilege: Background and Recent Legislation; and CRS Report RL34274, Franking Privilege: Historical Development and Options for Change.