Watchdog Says Rep. Schrader Violating Ban on Campaign Use of Official Tax-Paid Resources

Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) questions witnesses during a hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Capitol Hill on June 23, 2020. Sarah Silbiger/Pool via Getty Images

House Ethics Committee members should investigate whether Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) violated congressional rules against using tax-paid official resources in his reelection campaign, according to a private watchdog group.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint with the committee on March 25 alleging that at least two of Schrader’s recent campaign advertisements use official press releases issued by his Washington staff.

“House ethics rules require strict separation between campaign and official acts: A Member is prohibited from using any official resources for any campaign and political purposes. Official resources include anything funded by taxpayers, such as a Member’s official press release, website, and social media accounts,” FACT told the ethics panel in its complaint.

“This rule protects taxpayer-funded resources from abuse and theft, and it addresses the public concern that incumbents wrongfully use government funds to run for reelection and only take official action for political purposes, and not for the good of the country.”

Shrader’s recent campaign advertisement, “Veterinarian,” at the 14-second mark shows him talking with a man on what appears to be a business area sidewalk, with accompanying copy declaring that “Schrader Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Keep Drug Costs Down,” with a date of Jan. 31, 2019. The exact same headline appears on Schrader’s official website on a press release posted on that date.

The same advertisement at the 19-second mark shows him talking with a woman in a hard hat in what appears to be a construction site setting. Also in the picture is written copy declaring that “Bipartisan Schrader Bill to Strengthen Career & Technical Education Passes with Unanimous Support.” The same words appear on the June 22, 2017, press release posted on Schrader’s official website.

Prominently displayed throughout the advertisement is the Schrader reelection campaign logo.

A spokesman for Schrader didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment. No response was received to a telephone message left with his campaign headquarters seeking comment.

“Schrader has committed a clear violation by using official press releases in a campaign advertisement. The official press releases were created by congressional staff and posted on a congressional website,” the complaint reads.

The FACT complaint also noted that “Schrader recently failed to timely disclose stock transactions as required by the STOCK Act—the only mechanism to determine whether a Member had a conflict of interest, or is wrongfully profiting from his official position.”

“It is troubling when our Members cannot even follow the most basic and straightforward ethics rules, and repeated violations of these laws indicate a disregard for them as a whole,” the complaint reads.

Schrader, a farmer and a veterinarian by profession, is serving his seventh term in the House of Representatives from Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. He has been one of the few House Democrats willing to appear to buck Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

He initially opposed the second House impeachment campaign against then-President Donald Trump, reportedly describing it as being akin to “a lynching,” but he ultimately voted for the ouster following the Jan. 6, 2021, demonstrations and violence at the U.S. Capitol. The impeachment failed in the Senate, as it had in the first impeachment during Trump’s tenure in the Oval Office.

Schrader’s reticence about going along with national Democratic leaders has sparked dissatisfaction with him back home among local party activists and officials. Four of the six county Democratic parties in the 5th District voted to endorse Schrader’s primary opponent, Jamie McLeod-Skinner, an attorney and perennial Democratic candidate.

She lost a 2018 general election campaign against Republican Rep. Greg Walden in Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, and she finished third in the Democratic primary for Oregon Secretary of State.

However, labor union and left-wing activists are strongly backing McLeod-Skinner, including the Service Employees International Union and United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Progressive Democrats of America, the Oregon Education Association, and the Working Families Party (WFP).

The WFP favors the elimination of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, as well as supporting tuition-free public, trade, and college education for all citizens and Medicare for all.