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Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) continued to question the retaining of a lawyer by House Republicans to defend the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of the House.

After back-and-forth correspondence over funding and retaining counsel to defend the act, which bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, Pelosi sent a letter Wednesday asking House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) how House Republicans decided on hiring the outside counsel â€" King and Spalding attorney Paul Clement â€" and paying him $500,000 to defend the law.

Clement's contract, approved Friday by Committee on House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), was made public earlier this week.

"How was the $520 dollar an hour ‘blended rate’ for attorneys negotiated, and how was the $500,000 fee established?" Pelosi asked in her letter. "Was there a determination that $500,000 would be sufficient to pay for the complete legal representation ! in the 12 pending cases, and if so, who made that determination and how?

“Is $520 an hour the regular rate normally charged by King and Spalding attorneys?” Pelosi asked. “What are the specific hourly rates that will be charged by each of the King and Spalding attorneys listed in section 5 of the contract?  Is it anticipated that King and Spalding will represent the House in all 12 pending DOMA cases from the trial stage through any and all appeals?"

The letter also asked if any other law firms were in the running to win the contract to defend the cases. Pelosi's letter is the latest between her and Boehner's offices over the decision of the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) to defend the law after President Obama ordered the Department of Justice to stop defending it.

House Democrats have supported Obama’s redefining of the law as unconstitutional and criticized their Republican counterparts for hiring a lawyer to defend! DOMA. House Republicans shot back that if the Obama administr! ation wa s doing what it was supposed to do and defending the law, Republicans wouldn't have to hire an outside law firm for $500,000 to defend it. 

In an email response to Pelosi's letter, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel restated Boehner's urging for Pelosi to support using cut funds from the Department of Justice to fund the DOMA legal defense.

"The minority leader's new-found concern for saving taxpayers money is encouraging," Steel said. "We hope it means we can count on her support for reducing DOJ's budget to recoup any costs incurred by the House so that taxpayers will bear no added cost for the administration's refusal to defend the laws of the United States."

â€"This story was updated at 4:51 p.m.