Contributions to political campaigns are not bribes, because the money is not personal income to elected officials. But what if a Congressman puts his wife or a relative on his campaign payroll? Technically, that’s perfectly legal, too. But it’s harder to argue a Congressman has no personal benefit when his wife is on his campaign payroll. Here’s a list of Congressmen who’ve hired family members (Vote.com; 12/7/06):

Congressman Richard Pombo (R) – wife and 2 brothers

Congressman Zoe Lofgren (D) – husband’s law firm

Congressman Bernie Sanders (I) – wife and step-daughter

Congressman John Doolittle (R) – wife

Congressman Ralph Hall (R) – daughter-in-law

Congressman Pete Stark (D) – wife

Congressman Buck McKeon (R) – wife

Congressman Ron Lewis (R) – wife

Congressman Bart Stupak (D) – wife

Congressman Jim Costa (D) – nephew

Congressman Chris Cannon (R) – three daughters

Congressman Lincoln Davis (D) – sister-in-law and daughter

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R) – wife

Congressman Dave Reichert (R) – nephew

Congressman Louie Gehmert (R) – wife

Congressman Tim Bishop (D) – daughter

Congressman Bob Filner (D) – wife

Congressman J.D. Hayworth (R) – wife

Congressman Bob Inglis (R) – wife

Congressman Elton Gallegly (R) – wife

Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R) – wife, nephew

Congressman John Sweeney (R) – wife

Congressman Jeff Flake (R) – wife

Congressman Ed Pastor (D) – nephew

Congressman John Shadegg (R) – son

Congressman Howard Berman (D) – brother’s consulting firm

Senator Barbara Boxer (D) – son

Other Congressman and Senators have family members who are lobbyists; among them are House and Senate leaders:

Congressman Dennis Hastert – son (lobbyist for Google)

Senator Harry Reid – son and son-in-law

Congressman Roy Blunt – wife (for tobacco companies)

If the new Democratic Majority in Congress wants to put its best foot forward when it convenes in January, a good first step would be to ban both practices.

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