WASHINGTON – A Georgia congressman awarded his stepdaughter, a niece and an aide’s future wife college scholarships through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, making him the second House Democrat known to use the group to steer money to relatives and associates.
The nonprofit foundation’s records show Rep. Sanford Bishop picked his stepdaughter, Aayesha Owens Reese, to receive the money in 2003.
Records also show Bishop awarded foundation scholarships in 2003 and 2005 to his niece, Emmaundia J. Whitaker. Another of his 2003 recipients, Sherletha A. Thomas, is now the wife of Bishop’s longtime district staff director, Kenneth Cutts.
The foundation prohibits scholarships from going to lawmakers’ relatives, but Bishop says the rules were unclear when his family members got their money.
An attorney for the foundation, Amy R. Goldson, said in an e-mail the group has always required that government officials not use the awards to benefit themselves.
Melanie Sloan, director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said members of Congress shouldn’t need such rules to know that awarding scholarship money to their families is inappropriate.
“Giving scholarships to your family is clearly wrong,” Sloan said. “How could you not know better? All of their explanations and rationalizations ring hollow.”
