(Washington, D.C.) – March 22, 2012. Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington released its new report, Family Affair, detailing how members of the House of Representatives use their campaign accounts to sometimes generously reimburse themselves or pay spouses for campaign-related consulting services.
In their new report the group singles out Illinois Republican U.S Rep. Aaron Schock for particularly harsh criticism.
The report says Schock’s campaign committee reimbursed him for more than $150,000 over the 2008 and 2010 election cycles, including paying for a stay at a five-star hotel in Athens, Greece. His campaign committee also reimbursed his mother almost $24,000 during the same period.
“A campaign account is not a personal slush fund,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan.
“It’s hard to fathom how a hotel stay in Greece could be a legitimate campaign expense, but that accounts for only a small portion of the money Rep. Schock pocketed from his campaign. Conduct like this reinforces the widely held view that members of Congress are more interested in enriching themselves and their family members than in public service.”
Campaign records show Schock’s campaign committee reimbursed him over $150,000 during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles. More than $30,000 of these reimbursements were for hotels, including stays at high-end resorts in Athens and Miami.
Schock’s campaign committee also initially reported paying more than $300 to P90X, a fitness training DVD company, and classified it as a “health care” expense. Additionally, the campaign committee reimbursed his mother, Janice Knapp, almost $24,000 for various expenses over the same time frame.
In all, the report detailed financials expenditures paid by 248 members of the House to themselves or family members for an assortment of expense or services. Click here to read about the actions of other members of Congress in CREW’s latest report.
Family Affair is a follow-up to CREW’s 2007 Family Affair – House report, which looked at how representatives used their positions to benefit family members over the 2002, 2004, and 2006 election cycles. The new report focuses on the 2008 and 2010 cycles. Click to read the 2007 report or the 2008 Family Affair – Senate report.
Gov. Pat Quinn
This is an extremely low level, below the belt attack on a fine congressman. First of all, do you know how many Greek restaurant owners there are in Congressman Schock’s district? Can he not pay a visit to the homeland of these hard workers to check up on their relatives with being criticized for it? Also many of Illinois finest retirees and state pensioners have retired to Miami, can he not check on their well being? As to the gym club, who wants a fat congressman, ask Jessie Jackson jr? Finally, have you no shame, to pick on a man’s mother, Janice Knapp (nee Fala) is not in politics and greatly resents the cheap attack, especially so close to mother’s day.
Posted by Jim Sather | March 22, 2012, 10:33 AMJim
If you’re going write a comment like that, you need to give me advance warning.
Now I have to wipe the coffee spit off my keyboard.
David
Posted by David Ormsby | March 22, 2012, 10:39 AM