Report says Barton's campaign paid wife

19 Jun 2007 // Terri Barton, the wife of U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, has come under scrutiny by a government watchdog group for the $57,759 she received in salary and bonuses from the congressman's 2006 campaign committee.

In a report titled Family Affair, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington found that 96 House members -- 41 Democrats and 55 Republicans -- out of 337 studied over the 2002, 2004 and 2006 election cycles, used their campaign funds to benefit family members. It is legal to use campaign funds to employ relatives.

However, CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan questions the practice.

"It's suspicious to me that so many family members are qualified to work on campaigns," she said. "They're treating it like a profit center."

Barton, who was chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee until the Democrats won control of Congress in November, raised more than $3 million for the 2006 campaign.

Barton spokeswoman Karen Modlin said Terri Barton was the campaign's outreach director and planned fundraising and special events for the campaign.

Barton's 2006 campaign committee also paid Barton's daughter, Kristin Barton, $12,622 in salary and bonuses and paid his mother, Nell Barton, $7,000 for a car.

Online: www.citizensforethics.org

Family Affair list
Six other House members from Texas are on the list -- Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo; Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler; Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall; Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock; Ron Paul, R-Surfside; and Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso.

The report found:

Hall: His 2006 campaign paid his son $30,800 in rent and $64,439 to his daughter-in-law for keeping the books.

Gohmert: Paid his wife, Kathy, $73,905 in the 2006 election cycle.

Cuellar: In the 2004 campaign, the committee paid the congressman $52,200 for in-kind contributions of office space, office equipment and vehicle use and $18,400 for other un-itemized in-kind contributions. Also in 2004, the campaign committee paid Cuellar's former employer, Henry Cuellar Law Offices, $6,000 for rent.

Neugebauer: In the 2006 cycle, the campaign paid $9,000 to the company that employs his wife.

Paul: The GOP presidential candidate paid his daughter more than $36,000 from his 2006 congressional campaign committee and more than $20,000 from his leadership political action committee.

Reyes: Paid his son $500 for computer services out of the 2006 campaign, his brother $350 for reimbursements and made campaign contributions to his sister-in-law and his father.