House to Post Expenses Online

The House is planning to put lists of lawmakers' expenses online in an effort to share more information with the public, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move, announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday, will give taxpayers easy access to details on lawmakers' expenses, which run up to $1.9 million a year. Until now, records have only been available in hefty bound volumes kept at the Capitol.

Taxpayer groups hailed the move to make it easier to view the expenses, which, in the most recent records available, included luxury car leases, top-end laptops, big-screen TVs, and flower arrangements. In the Senate, where expense allowances can be as high as $4.5 million, Republican Tom Coburn has promised to introduce a bill requiring senators' expense records also be posted online.
(More House of Representatives stories.)