Departing FL-17 Rep. Kendrick Meek gave his congressional staff an EXTRA $252,978 in salaries last quarter compared to previous pay periods

On his way out the door, departing FL-17 Rep. Kendrick Meek gave his congressional staff an EXTRA $252,978 in salaries last quarter compared to previous pay periods.
Ninety-six members of Congress did this, but on this one issue -this issue!- Meek finally chose to be a leader!

According to LegiStorm, http://www.legistorm.com/, Rep. Kendrick Meek was one of the two largest-spending departing Members dispensing bonuses to staffers.
Does that include his former staffer Alexander Lewy, now a Hallandale Beach City Commissioner, but for part of that time period, a political candidate and Meek's Deputy Director of Special Operations?
Could be, why don't you ask him?

Like any of this really surprises me -or you!

At LegiStorm's blog, they headline the story this way:
Exodus in the House lets staff bonuses flow
http://www.legistorm.com/blog/exodus-in-the-house-lets-staff-bonuses-flow.html

Salaries for time period: 10/01/10 - 12/31/10:
http://www.legistorm.com/member/371/Rep_Kendrick_Meek_FL/73.html

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Wall Street Journal
POLITICS
March 7, 2011
Big Payday for Some Hill Staffers
By Louise Radnofsky

Departing members of the House of Representatives awarded millions of dollars in extra pay to aides as they closed down their offices, according to lawmakers' spending records.

The 96 lawmakers paid their employees $6.7 million, or 31%, more in the fourth quarter of 2010 than they did, on average, in the first three quarters of the year.

That's about twice as much as the 16% increase awarded by lawmakers who returned to the 112th Congress, according to LegiStorm, an organization that tracks congressional salaries.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703362804576184903976465110.html

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http://www.legistorm.com/

http://www.legistorm.com/blog/exodus-in-the-house-lets-staff-bonuses-flow.html

Staffer Salaries for Sens. Bill Nelson & Mel Martinez and South Florida Congressmen

2008 Salary staffer information courtesy of Legistorm, http://www.legistorm.com

Sen. Bill Nelson

http://www.legistorm.com/member/75/Sen_Bill_Nelson.html

Sen. Mel Martinez

http://www.legistorm.com/member/68/Sen_Mel_Martinez.html

17

http://www.legistorm.com/member/371/Rep_Kendrick_Meek.html

18

http://www.legistorm.com/member/446/Rep_Ileana_Ros_Lehtinen.html

19

http://www.legistorm.com/member/531/Rep_Robert_Wexler.html

20

http://www.legistorm.com/member/521/Rep_Debbie_Wasserman_Schultz.html

21

http://www.legistorm.com/member/206/Rep_Lincoln_Diaz_Balart.html

22

http://www.legistorm.com/member/848/Rep_Ron_Klein.html

23

http://www.legistorm.com/member/269/Rep_Alcee_Hastings.html

25

http://www.legistorm.com/member/207/Rep_Mario_Diaz_Balart.html

If you don't already have them on your list of Favorites, consider adding Legistorm at http://www.legistorm.com/

and the Center for Responsive Politics website, http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php