Congress hones in on lawmakers with family on payroll

Bill aims to limit who can be on campaign staff, assure disclosure

18 Sep 2007 // Congress might restrict and shine new light on how lawmakers' family members benefit from them being in office.

A bill passed by the House would prohibit lawmakers from paying a spouse for campaign work.

Other relatives could still be on the payroll, but the candidates would have to submit a separate statement spelling out the salaries paid to a son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother, father, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law or grandchild.

One person who would be affected is Rep. Patrick McHenry, the Republican from Cherryville.

McHenry's sister, Catherine McHenry Rains of Gastonia, is his campaign treasurer. He pays her about $1,200 a month, not including an end-of-the-year bonus.

Rains, who is an accountant, was paid about $37,000 between June 1, 2005, and June 30, 2007, records show. The campaign also reimburses her about $50 a month for a fax line that cost $250 to install, according to reports McHenry files with the Federal Election Commission.

The payments are already public information, but it might not be obvious to viewers that she's his sister. The itemized distributions list her as Catherine Rains, but her maiden name is listed in the treasurer slot on the records.

The practice of employing family members on campaigns is common.

This year, an analysis of 2002-2006 campaign records was released by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

The watchdog group looked at 337 House members who were in leadership positions, including chairmen and ranking members of committees and subcommittees. It determined at least 96 were paying or otherwise assisting family members.

The group found that Rep. Mel Watt's son Jason was on the campaign payroll. In the 2006 election cycle, the Charlotte Democrat's son earned $500 for consulting; in 2004, he earned $10,346; and in 2002, he earned $750 for consulting, the report said.

Another Carolinian identified in the CREW report was Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Democrat from Lillington, who paid his son Brian about $1,400 from 2002-2004.

The bill, dubbed the Campaign Expenditure Transparency Act, was passed by the House in July on a voice vote, and now is pending in a Senate committee.

It's one of several efforts on Capitol Hill to boost confidence in Congress. Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican from Farmville, has been working to get better disclosure of the funds known as leadership PACs. Those political action committees don't usually identify the lawmaker who's behind them.