Office Space Fit for a Queen

When you consider what this woman spends on air travel and booze, it almost seems fiscally responsible, except when you find out the monthly taxpayer-funded tab is nearly twice what anyone else in Congress is paying.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has more than quadrupled the rent on her San Francisco district office, making the $18,736-a-month cost of her new South of Market space the highest in the House, according to a new report.

The rent - part of Pelosi's budget, which is funded by taxpayers - is nearly double the next-highest rent in the House: Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., pays $10,600 a month for his Manhattan office, while representatives from Sacramento, Boston and Los Angeles pay nearly that much, the report said.

The financial data were compiled from public records by the nonprofit Sunlight Foundation and Roll Call, a political newspaper. Information from the database is not yet available online.

Pelosi moved in the fall from the federal building at 450 Golden Gate Ave. to the 18-story federal building at 90 Seventh St. She had been paying about $4,300 a month for her old office, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.

"After being based in the Burton Federal Building for over 20 years, we were no longer able to meet the needs of San Franciscans in the existing space," Hammill said in a statement. "The new office space is 3,075 square feet, nearly a third larger than the old space, which was of inadequate size. Additionally, the new building is more centrally located, right off of Market Street, which allows for easier access for constituents via public transportation.

In addition to the speaker's space needs, her new office is also more secure, Hammill added.

The better to keep the riff-raff at bay. You never know when some of these peons might have a question for Her Highness.

Let's hope when Pelosi is replaced as House Speaker next January that she's forced to find less opulent space more befitting a minority leader. Spending over $224,000 annually on an office you may occupy maybe 50 times in the course of a year just won't be necessary.