Ilhan Omar has been able to profit greatly from one little congressional loophole.
This underhanded means of enriching herself may be coming to an end.
Ilhan Omar trembled at this Republican bill that could cost her family millions.
During her reelection campaign, Rep. Ilhan Omar paid $2.8 million to the consulting firm of her husband Tim Mynett.
Omar’s campaign contributed 78% of the total political payments that her husband’s consulting firm received.
Omar tried to defend herself by saying, “Every dollar that was spent went to a team of more than twenty that were helping us fight back against attacks and organize on the ground and online in a COVID-19 world.”
Only after the election did Omar decide to cut ties with her husband’s firm.
Although conservatives filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), there has been no action taken.
Currently the FEC rules state that “campaign funds may be used to make salary payments to members of the candidate’s family” if “the family member is providing a bona fide service to the campaign” and “the payments reflect the fair market value of those services.”
Republican Reps. Tom Tiffany and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin are looking to stop federal candidates from enriching their spouses or immediate family members.
They named the piece of legislation the “OMAR Act,” or the Oversight for Members and Relatives Act.
The OMAR Act, Reps. Tiffany and Gallagher said “it would put an end to the practice of candidates for office tapping their campaign accounts to enrich their spouses.”
“For too long, lawmakers of both political parties have engaged in the ethically dubious practice of pocketing campaign funds by ‘hiring’ their spouses and laundering the money as campaign related expenses,” Tiffany said.
“It is outrageous and inappropriate for Members of Congress to convert campaign donations to personal funds in this way,” he continued. “It feeds public perceptions of corruption, undermines public trust in Congress, and must come to an end.”
This should be an issue that Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree on.
“Regardless of political party, we should all be able to agree that running for political office shouldn’t be part of a family enrichment scheme,” Tiffany added. “Passing the OMAR Act will help restore public confidence in Congress and stop politicians from effectively pocketing their campaign funds.”
Gallagher charged that such loopholes that “allow members of Congress to funnel campaign funds to their spouses are despicable and erode trust in our government. There’s simply no logical reason for allowing this practice to continue, and I’m proud to join Rep. Tiffany in this common-sense effort to ensure members can’t profit off running for Congress.”
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