Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) on Thursday introduced legislation that would curb spending on official portraits of cabinet members.
“Hardworking taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for lavish official portraits, especially when government officials spend more on paintings of themselves than some Americans make in a year,” Coburn said in a statement. “This bill reins in excessive spending on such portraits and protects taxpayers from funding waste.”
The bill would limit the administration to spending only $20,000 per portrait, and officials can chip in their own money if they would like to spend more on the painting.
In March, the Department of Defense announced that it would spend $31,000 on a portrait of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, according to the Huffington Post.
