This "Newsbite" Deserves A Separate Posting

The economy is still limping along, but some members of Congress are nevertheless riding in style: At least 10 House members are spending more than $1,000 a month in taxpayer money to lease cars.

Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas)...is paying $1,628 to lease a GMC Yukon...

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.)...spends $1,230 per month on a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe...

Pedro Pierluisi, the Democrat who represents Puerto Rico, spends $1,400 each month on his hybrid GMC Yukon, but a spokeswoman said that figure includes insurance, repair and maintenance costs.

Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.) — one of the richest members of Congress, with a net worth of more than $36 million — spends $1,279 in taxpayer money on his vehicle, a 2009 Chevy Malibu that helps him traverse his expansive southern New Mexico district. His cost includes additional mileage to facilitate travel in the sixth-largest congressional district in the country, his office said.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) spent $1,259 per month last quarter for a hybrid Toyota Highlander

Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who represents St. Louis, spends $1,059 a month on a hybrid Ford SUV.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) spends $1,026 each month on a hybrid Mercury Mariner, which he drives between his northern Pennsylvania district and Washington to avoid having to pay airfare.

Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) spends $1,143 each month for his vehicle.

Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) leases a hybrid Ford SUV for $1,108 a month.

]I]t’s possible that there are leases even more expensive on a month-to-month basis than those detailed here.

At least three members of Congress - Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Gary Miller (R-Calif.) - lease Lexuses with taxpayer money.

Miller - a construction entrepreneur with a net worth in excess of $13 million - spends $843 in taxpayer money to lease a Lexus RX 400h, marketed as “the world’s first luxury hybrid SUV.” He blames the high price on the energy-efficiency rule. And he says he’s hamstrung by his height - he’s more than 6 feet tall - and the need to sit comfortably during his twice-weekly, hourlong drive to and from Los Angeles International Airport.