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Rep. Chuck Edwards spends most of $300,000 congressional allowance funds on staff

Chief of Staff Bronwyn Lance, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) , District Director Chris Burns
Tyler Goode/Southwestern Community College
Edwards Chief of Staff Bronwyn Lance, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) , District Director Chris Burns

In his first few months in Congress, Rep. Chuck Edwards spent the bulk of his congressional allowance on personnel to staff his office.

Of the $309,516 in government funds spent by the 11th district representative’s congressional office in the first quarter of 2023, just over a quarter of a million went to staff salaries, according to House disbursement documents.

Edwards’ Chief of Staff Bronwyn Lance earned the highest salary of the personnel listed at $52,790 for the quarter. At her current rate, the Capitol Hill veteran will earn more than $210,000 annually. District director Chris Burns of Hendersonville received $26,888 for the quarter—a pay rate that would yield $107,000 annually.

Each member of Congress receives an annual Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) to support the conduct of official and representational duties for the district. The amount an individual office receives varies depending on distance from Washington, D.C. and other factors, but the average annual allowance in 2022 was $1,826,590. Representatives’ salaries are not included in the allowance.

Edwards office allocated about $14,000 for travel expenses and about $19,000 for supplies since the first of the year, according to the disclosure documents.

The largest expenditure in the travel category was an automotive lease. Edwards’ office confirmed the item was the Thor Dodge Ram Class B van that is used as a mobile office called the Carolina Cruiser.

The expense of $1,660.82, made in March, was paid to JCSWNC, LLC, an organization incorporated in North Carolina in late January of this year, according to documents filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State.

The managing member of the JCSWNC company is John Clay Sykes, an engineer and founder of ESG Operations, a water and public works firm that boasts it is “the largest utility operations company in the Southeast.”

Sykes supported Edwards in his bid to oust incumbent Rep. Madison Cawthorn in 2022, donating $30,800 to the “Edwards Victory Fund” and $17,500 to “Results for NC.” Both funds were PACs in support of Edwards, according to FEC data.

Sykes and his wife Lisa also each contributed $5,800 to Edwards’ campaign committee, “Chuck Edwards for Congress.”

A spokesperson for Edwards said JCSWNC was selected over a dealership because it was able to meet the “very specific rules regarding the terms of lease obligations” mandated by the Committee on House Administration.

“The lessor was able to meet those rules and provided competitive terms for the lease,” the spokesperson said. Edwards' office declined to provide details on the rules.

The lease was reviewed and approved by the appropriate House committees and legal counsel who review and approve leases, according to the spokesperson.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect statements from Edwards' office.

Laura Lee began her journalism career as a producer and booker at NPR. She returned to her native North Carolina to manage The State of Things, a live daily statewide show on WUNC. After working as a managing editor of an education journalism start-up, she became a writer and editor at a national education publication, Edutopia. She then served as the news editor at Carolina Public Press, a statewide investigative newsroom. In 2022, she worked to build collaborative coverage of elections administration and democracy in North Carolina.

Laura received her master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland and her bachelor’s degree in political science and J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.