‘There is no shame in being the party of no,” former Alaskan governor and future television documentarian Sarah Palin told an adoring audience at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans last Friday. That, however, is a matter of debate. Newt Gingrich, for example, says he would prefer to be a member of “the party of yes.” Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal thinks differently. He wants to be part of the party of “hell, no.” There is time for the Republican leadership to be having this debate because, well, they’re not doing much else.

Obstructing their Democratic rivals’ every move may yet prove to have been an ingenious gambit on the part of congressional Republicans, but there is no question that it carries a cost. With Tax Day upon us, we got to thinking: Just how much money are taxpayers spending on the Republican Party’s commitment to doing exactly nothing? How much would Americans have saved if the Party of Lincoln’s emissaries to the 111th Congress had simply mailed a one-page note to Democrats on January 3, 2009, inscribed with a single word—“no”?

Instead, Republicans continue to pull down their taxpayer-funded salaries, enjoy their taxpayer-sponsored benefits, and accept tax-free donations to think tanks. What has all of their subsidized inactivity cost the nation? Many of the answers can be found in the congressional budget, but we decided to do the math for you.*

 

SALARIES: Members of Congress voted last year to suspend their automatic cost-of-living raises, but each one still makes $174,000 a year. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) get a little extra: $193,400 a year, plus $50,000 and $10,000 in expenses, respectively.
Republican share of total salaries paid since the start of the 111th Congress, in January 2009: $47.9 million.

STAFF: Congressional entourages have exploded in recent years: Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) alone employed as many as 62 people in 2009. There are now about 10,000 staffers working for members of the House of Representatives. Almost 2,000 of them are drawing six-figure salaries, and all full-timers enjoy federal benefits. We made a conservative estimate of the Grand Old Party’s costs in this arena, including its estimated share of member and committee staffs but excluding the cost of paying administrative officials, such as the Senate sergeant-at-arms or parliamentarian.
G.O.P. total: $231.3 million.

BENEFITS: Under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, senators and representives can choose from a variety of health-insurance plans. For an additional fee, they can gain access to an on-site doctor’s office and pharmacy, too. Members also get generous federal pensions: congressmen are eligible for a lifetime payment after serving five years and can receive up to 80 percent of their final annual salary. Smaller but still-tasty perks include parking, meals at the House and Senate restaurants, and memberships to the House gym. We simply looked at the annual federal contribution to health, retirement, and other benefit plans for legislative-branch employees.
G.O.P. total: $163.1 million.

EXPENSES: Apart from their staff budgets, members of Congress get substantial allowances to maintain their offices (in their home states as well as in D.C.) and to communicate with constituents. You’ve probably heard of the “franking privilege,” for example, which lets members mail official letters without paying postage. Well, frankly, all those paper clips and water coolers really add up.
G.O.P. total: $533.1 million.

KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON: It takes a lot of energy to keep voting no. House and Senate buildings require light, heat, water, sewer service, maintenance, and police protection. Each of these needs has its own budget line.
G.O.P. total: $281.4 million.

THINK TANKS: Didn’t think taxpayers were footing the bill for think tanks? Think again. Because most “policy institutes” enjoy tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the federal government loses about 35 cents in taxes for every dollar given to conservative policy institutes. Here we’ve included revenues lost because of donations to five of the largest conservative think tanks—the Heritage Foundation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, and the Manhattan Institute. Sure, they’ve come up with some interesting ideas. When Republicans enact any of them, you can take this item off our list.
G.O.P. total: $63.5 million.

GRAND OLD TOTAL OF THE DIRECT TAXPAYER COSTS OF “NO”: $1.32 billion.