Congressional Black Caucus Member Eddie Bernice Johnson Is the Latest Target on "Ethics" Violations

Longtime Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) of Dallas, Texas, 74, was targeted for ethics violations in a major exposé in yesterday's Dallas Morning News.

Rep. Johnson, a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, now chairs the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

The story, by reporters Todd Gillman and Christy Hoppe, charges that Rep. Johnson violated the rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation by steering modest college scholarships to her relatives, and relatives of one of her senior aides. The scholarships are open to applicants who have a grade point average of 2.5/4, and are worth about $1,000-1,200/year. The CBC Foundation provides $10,000 a year for each member of the Congressional Black Caucus to award. The Dallas Morning News does not identify what prompted the investigation of Rep. Johnson's choices for the scholarship awards. It follows major "Fruehmenschen" attempts in recent months to oust senior CBC members who chair important committees or subcommittees, such as Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

EIR has learned that the Dallas Morning News authors were tipped off about Rep. Johnson's scholarship awards by "someone in a position to know."

Made aware of her violation of the CBC Foundation's rule that no relative of Congressional members or staff may receive the awards, Rep. Johnson said the violations were unknowing, and that she would work to rectify the awards.