U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, is defending his use of $24,730 in taxpayer money last year to lease a 2008 Lexus hybrid sedan.

As noted over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, was the first example cited by The Wall Street Journal in an article about legal but “eye-catching” expenses that members of Congress have passed on to taxpayers.

“The lease of the vehicle in question has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives,” Hastings’ chief of staff, Lale Mamaux, said in an e-mail Monday.

“It is an energy-efficient vehicle that the congressman feels safe driving throughout his district, which … encompasses Palm Beach, Broward, Hendry, Martin and St. Lucie counties,” Mamaux said. “He believes that the overall cost of the vehicle will decrease as he plans to keep it over the next six years for official business.”

Mamaux didn’t respond to a follow-up request for more detailed information about the lease, so it was unclear what period was covered by the $24,730.

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U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, topped this story in the Wall Street Journal today detailing how members of Congress spend their office expense accounts.

Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings spent $24,730 in taxpayer money last year to lease a 2008 luxury Lexus hybrid sedan. Ohio Rep. Michael Turner expensed a $1,435 digital camera. Eni Faleomavaega, the House delegate from American Samoa, bought two 46-inch Sony TVs.

The expenditures were legal, properly accounted for and drawn from allowances the U.S. government grants to lawmakers. Equipment purchased with office expense accounts must be returned to the House or the federal General Services Administration when a lawmaker leaves office.

But as British politicians come under widening scorn for spending public money on everything from candy bars to moat-dredging, an examination of U.S. lawmakers’ expense claims shows Washington’s elected officials have also used public funds for eye-catching purchases.