Politics

Can the Congressional Black Caucus clean house?

12:53 PM on 09/02/2010

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Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., left, walks away with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus after a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington Thursday, March 11, 2010.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Founded in 1971 with just 13 members, the CBC now boasts a record 42. But in recent months it's gotten more attention for scandal than for accomplishment. The admission by Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson that she improperly steered $31,000 in Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarships to relatives and the children of an aide (money she has since reimbursed), prompted an internal review by the Foundation, a non-profit connected to the CBC mostly in name, and through the 12 legislators who sit on its 37-member board (similar to the way that the Ford Foundation is connected to the Ford corporation).

"We have done this for almost three decades and to the best of our knowledge this is the first time that something like this happened," said Foundation spokesperson Muriel Cooper.

Cooper also criticized a scathing February New York Times article she said unfairly painted the Foundation and the Caucus as a single entity beholden to big corporations that push products harmful to the black community like alcohol, tobacco and payday loans.

Cooper said the Foundation handed out nearly $700,000 in scholarships to around 300 students in 2009, sent nearly 80 student interns to Washington (seven are featured in this month's Ebony magazine) and employed 7-8 paid "fellows" at $40,000 a year apiece plus health care, to work on Capitol Hill policy issues including health care reform.

The Times' story suggested the Foundation spends more on catering for its annual legislative conference, scheduled for September 15-18 this year in Washington, which attracts the black elite from all over the country, along with millions of corporate dollars. Cooper and Foundation supporters say what critics call a week of parties and networking is also one of workshops and panels on the economy, civic engagement, civil rights and education.

"Nobody ever reports on what the black folk are doing during the day," said one supporter on background, adding that such questions aren't raised about similar conferences by groups like the Aspen Institute or the Clinton Global Initiative, which also offer lavish parties with corporate donors, and the chance to rub elbows with the powerful.

There are also real questions over whether Caucus members are being specially targeted for scrutiny. Politico reported in November 2009 that all seven active House ethics investigations involved Black lawmakers. In March, University of District of Columbia professor G. Derek Musgrove pointed out that during the 1980s and early '90s when Republicans controlled the Justice Department, a third of the Black Caucus was investigated, with no convictions. Still Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, ran on the supposed ethical troubles of Democrats, something the GOP is doing again this year.

And Musgrove said most of the ethics claims originated with a single conservative "watchdog" group, the National Legal and Policy Center, which routinely targets Democrats.

Joe Madison, who hosts a nationally syndicated talk radio show broadcast from Washington D.C. on XM 169 The Power, says the scrutiny is a sign of blacks' growing power in Washington.

"Scrutiny is a sport in this town, and the more powerful one is, the more scrutinized one will be," Madison said. "Is it fair? If you're not guilty it's not fair. But what it suggests is that black elected officials have to be above board at all times, and that's not just members of the CBC."

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With a black president in the White House, the Congressional Black Caucus finds itself in a strange place: rocked by investigations of its members, including high profile ethics charges against "Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA),":http://www.thegrio.com/politics/should-reps-rangel-and-waters-step-aside.php and facing questions about corporate donations and cronyism. Founded in 1971 with just 13 members, the CBC now boasts a record 42. But in recent months it's gotten more attention for scandal than for accomplishment. The admission by Texas "Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson":http://www.thegrio.com/politics/congressional-black-caucus-bogged-down-by-another-ethics-scandal.php that she improperly steered $31,000 in Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarships to relatives and the children of an aide (money she has since reimbursed), prompted an internal review by the Foundation, a non-profit connected to the CBC mostly in name, and through the 12 legislators who sit on its 37-member board (similar to the way that the Ford Foundation is connected to the Ford corporation). "We have done this for almost three decades and to the best of our knowledge this is the first time that something like this happened," said Foundation spokesperson Muriel Cooper. Cooper also criticized a scathing February New York Times article she said unfairly painted the Foundation and the Caucus as a single entity beholden to big corporations that push products harmful to the black community like alcohol, tobacco and payday loans. Cooper said the Foundation handed out nearly $700,000 in scholarships to around 300 students in 2009, sent nearly 80 student interns to Washington (seven are featured in this month's _Ebony_ magazine) and employed 7-8 paid "fellows" at $40,000 a year apiece plus health care, to work on Capitol Hill policy issues including health care reform. The _Times_' story suggested the Foundation spends more on catering for its annual "legislative conference":http://www.cbcfinc.org/2010-annual-legislative-conference.html, scheduled for September 15-18 this year in Washington, which attracts the black elite from all over the country, along with millions of corporate dollars. Cooper and Foundation supporters say what critics call a week of parties and networking is also one of workshops and panels on the economy, civic engagement, civil rights and education. "Nobody ever reports on what the black folk are doing during the day," said one supporter on background, adding that such questions aren't raised about similar conferences by groups like the Aspen Institute or the Clinton Global Initiative, which also offer lavish parties with corporate donors, and the chance to rub elbows with the powerful. There are also real questions over whether Caucus members are being specially targeted for scrutiny. Politico "reported":http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29055.html in November 2009 that all seven active House ethics investigations involved Black lawmakers. In March, University of District of Columbia professor G. Derek Musgrove "pointed out":http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/03/22/neither-conspiracy-nor-post-racialism/ that during the 1980s and early '90s when Republicans controlled the Justice Department, a third of the Black Caucus was investigated, with no convictions. Still Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, ran on the supposed ethical troubles of Democrats, something the GOP is doing again this year. And Musgrove said most of the ethics claims originated with a single conservative "watchdog" group, the "National Legal and Policy Center":http://www.nlpc.org/, which routinely targets Democrats. Joe Madison, who hosts a nationally syndicated talk radio show broadcast from Washington D.C. on XM 169 The Power, says the scrutiny is a sign of blacks' growing power in Washington. "Scrutiny is a sport in this town, and the more powerful one is, the more scrutinized one will be," Madison said. "Is it fair? If you're not guilty it's not fair. But what it suggests is that black elected officials have to be above board at all times, and that's not just members of the CBC."