SAN ANTONIO - Stopping for a cup of coffee every morning can really add up. So imagine spending $2,200 a month on lattes.
It may sound crazy, but that's exactly what one member of congress spent on lattes just months before the federal government was forced to shave 85 billion dollars from the budget.
Expenditure reports obtained by The Washington Guardian, show in the final three months of 2012 -- the offices of house republican leaders spent nearly $30,000 on "supplies."
More than 80 percent of that -- $24,000 -- went for food and beverages at places such as Dunkin Doughnuts, Whole Foods, PF Chang's restaurant and grocery stores.
House Speaker John Boehner's office spent more than $2,200 on coffee just in the month of November.
Republican Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy's office seemingly ate like there was no tomorrow -- dropping nearly $2,500 at the Qdoba Mexican Grill, $2,300 for Chicken Out Catering and another $2,600 at a Buca Di Beppo restaurant.
Democratic lawmakers during the same period spent tens of thousands on rental cars and nearly ten grand more to attend an emergency management convention.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spent more than $1,100 on office supplies.
According to CNN, both democrats and republicans awarded congressional aides $2.5 million worth of cash bonuses.
Americans are taking note.
A recent Gallup Poll found the job approval rating for congress stuck at 14 percent --- near an all time low.
