Evidence Suggests Rep. Schrader (OR) Violated House Ethics Rules
Washington, D.C.—March 25, 2022— Today, the non-partisan ethics watchdog, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), filed a complaint requesting the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) investigate Congressman Kurt Schrader of Oregon for violating House Ethics rules that forbid Members from using official taxpayer-funded resources for political purposes.
House ethics rules require strict separation between campaign and official acts: a Member is prohibited from using any official resources for any campaign or political purposes. Official resources include anything funded by taxpayers, such as a Member’s official press releases, website, and social media accounts.
Rep. Schrader recently released a campaign advertisement titled “Veterinarian” that used official press releases issued by his congressional office. There are two instances in Schrader’s campaign advertisement where headlines from official press releases were used.
"It is troubling when 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 Office of Congressional Ethics is responsible for ensuring each Representative fulfills the public trust inherent to the office and that each complies with the House’s ethical standards. Therefore, we urge the OCE to immediately investigate and stop Representative Schrader’s ongoing ethics violations related to his campaign advertisement," said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
A full copy of the complaint can be found here.
In February 2022, FACT filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Schrader seeking an investigation into his apparent failure to timely disclose his stock trades. A full copy of that complaint can be found here.
FACT is a nonprofit organization to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas. For more on FACT, visit: http://www.factdc.org/
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