Lankford in top 25 Most Frugal Congressmembers of 2012

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Recent figures released by the U.S. House of Representatives show that Oklahoma Congressman James Lankford (R-Dist. 5) was among the most fiscally frugal Representatives in Washington in 2012. Lankford used 78.74% of his allocated office budget of $1,370,399, making him the 17th lowest spender in the House.

With the sequester, members will have to cut 8.2% from their budget - and according to Jamie Dupree, some will have a harder time doing so than others (120 Congressmembers spent over 95% of their budgets in 2012, while only 22 spent less than 80%). Each member has a different sized budget (no district is the same, and there are numerous factors that relate to specific budget amounts per district), so percentages tell more than raw numbers when comparing spending.

Oklahoma's five members ranked accordingly (out of 435):

17 of the top 25 most frugal members were Republican, while 7 were Democratic.

Other members of note:

• 1st - Jim Jordan (R-OH): spent 63.35%, the least of all. Jordan chaired the Republican Study Committee (the conservative wing of the GOP caucus)
• 9th - Justin Amash (R-MI): spent 75.83%. Rising libertarian/conservative star who explains every vote he casts on his Facebook page.
• 25th - Paul Ryan (R-WI): spent 81.41%. Chairman of the House Budget Committee. 2012 GOP VP nominee.
• 40th - Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): spent 82.90%. House Minority Leader.
• 56th - John Boehner (R-OH): spent 84.15%. Speaker of the House.
• 64th - Kevin McCarthy (R-CA): spent 84.91%. Majority Whip.
• 102nd - Allen West (R-FL): spent 87.29%. Tea Party star, defeated in 2012 election.
• 144th - Pete Sessions (R-TX): spent 89.31%. Former NRCC Chairman.
• 166th - Steny Hoyer (D-MD): spent 90.38%. Minority Whip.
• 197th - Eric Cantor (R-VA): spent 91.22%. House Majority Leader.
• 219th - Barney Frank (D-MA): spent 91.85%. No longer in office.
• 281st - Michele Bachmann (R-MN): spent 93.82%. 2012 presidential primary candidate.
• 350th - Steve Scalise (R-LA): spent 95.84%. Replaced Jim Jordan as 2013 RSC Chairman.
• 360th - Debbie Wasserman Schulz (D-FL): spent 96.12%. DNC Chairwoman.
• 399th - Ron Paul (R-TX): spent 97.30%. 2008 and 2012 presidential primary candidate. Libertarian hero.
• 403rd - Mike Pence (R-IN): spent 97.41%. Now Governor of Indiana.
• 404th - Dennis Kucinich (D-OH): spent 97.44%. 2008 presidential primary candidate. Lost in primary 2012.
• 430th - Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL): spent 98.98%. Set to go to prison for campaign fraud.
• 435th - Nan Hayworth (R-NY): spent 99.91%, the most of all. Lost re-election bid.

Here is the entire list:

Congressmembers by Budget Spending, 2012 by