COLUMBUS, Ga. – The controversy over Rep. Sanford Bishop’s decision to award charity scholarships to his relatives has expanded as four more students tied to the south Georgia Democrat and his wife have acknowledged receiving them as well.
Bishop earlier this month repaid the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation $6,350 to cover the cost of scholarships that he provided to his stepdaughter and niece. The nonprofit foundation receives funding from corporate sponsors to help fund the education of needy students.
Now the circle of people known to have received scholarships and have connections to the Bishops is growing, raising fresh criticism from a government watchdog group and questions from charity officials. Public documents and interviews show that two scholarships went to the children of individuals who were employed by Bishop’s wife, while two more went to persons with connections to the congressman’s office.
“Those scholarships were intended to go to smart, needy kids,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It wasn’t supposed to be a matter of cronyism.”
Bishop, who is running for re-election against Republican Mike Keown, has refused to discuss his or his wife’s relationships with the scholarship recipients, except to say the awards met rules set by the CBC Foundation.
“There’s no reason to go into this, so we’re not going to do it,” Bishop spokesman Tim Turner said.
The foundation, a nonprofit that supports the work of the CBC through policy seminars and other activities, did not explicitly bar scholarships from going to relatives of lawmakers, foundation board members and staff until 2008.
