For years, the nation's top officials and lawmakers have been immortalized in large oil painting portraits that adorn the halls of government buildings. Those portraits, paid for by American taxpayers money, can cost up to $50,000 each.
Now, thanks to new legislation announced on Thursday, taxpayers may see some reprieve.
Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Tom Coburn are introducing a bill that would limit the amount of taxpayer money spent on official portraits. The bill would allow only $20,000 of taxpayer funds to be spent and would only apply to portraits of those next in line to be president. If the painting costs more than the limit, funds from other sources may be spent to cover the rest, Fox News reported.
"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.
Shaheen and Corburn hope the bill, titled the "Responsible Use of Taxpayer Dollars for Portraits Act of 2013," will curb government spending on extravagant paintings.
"At a time when vital services and programs are facing cuts, we need to be looking at every way we can stop excessive spending practices in Washington," Shaheen said in a statement.
The Washington Times reported in November 2012 that the Environmental Protection Agency spent $38,350 on a portrait of former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. A painting of former Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley cost $41,200. A 3-by-4-foot tall oil portrait of Agriculture Department Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack was $22,500, the Washington Times reported.
Overall the Obama administration has spent nearly $400,000 on oil paintings in the last two years, ABC News reported. However, they've reportedly spent less on portraits than previous administrations did.
