Clyburn Crackdown

CONGRESSMAN SAVES FAMILY, SCREWS TAXPAYER

By Mande Wilkes

FITSNews – June 22, 2008 - As much as we ramble about fiscal responsbility, we actually appreciate it when someone in the government plays particularly fast and loose with our cash. It fuels our rantings and underscores our arguments, making our jobs that much easier. As such, we’re sending kudos to U.S Rep. Jim Clyburn for providing us with fresh fodder for our rantings.

It seems that Rep. Clyburn is a true family man, doing what he can to ensure that his folks don’t feel the pinch of an ever-worsening economy. Which would be very admirable and also very sweet, if only he weren’t using taxpayer funds to do it.

Since 2000, the House Majority Whip has appropriated at least $6.2 million from the federal budget for projects that directly benefit his family and friends.

Behold: Clyburn has earmarked $784,000 for the design of the International African American Museum, for which his nephew, Derrick Ballard, is an architect. This marks the second such time that Rep. Clyburn’s appropriations overlapped with his nephew’s interests.

Clyburn’s daughter, Angela, is also benefiting from her dad’s earmarks. He earmarked $229,000 for Columbia’s Charles R. Drew Wellness Center, for which Angela works as the marketing director. Of course, this is in addition to the nearly $1 million that he appropriated to build the Center in 2003.

Gwendolyn Clyburn, the Rep.’s sister-in-law, also stands to prosper. Rep. Clyburn earmarked $282,000 for the South Sumter Resource Center. His sister-in-law is a housing coordinator there. Since 2001, he has appropriated $670,000 to the Center.

Are you beginning to get the point? In case you need more evidence of Clyburn’s impropriety, we’ll continue.

Rep. Clyburn earmarked $2.5 million for Georgia airport construction, a project for which his cousin, William Clyburn Jr., was the chief lobbyist who pocketed $60,000 in fees after winning federal funding

Since 2007, Clyburn has set aside $381,000 for College Summit. Clyburn’s friend and former aide, Jaime Harrison, is a member of the board of directors at the nonprofit organization.

And the best part of all this? The congressman doesn’t even deny it or downplay it. In fact, he kind of delights in it, owning his impropriety with the fierce pride of a lioness guarding her pack:

“I have a bushel of family members. I earmark stuff for the state of South Carolina, and my daughter works for the state. I earmark stuff for Sumter, and several of my nieces and nephews work for Sumter. I’ve earmarked millions of dollars for I-73. Should I not do that because my son is an engineer with the highway department?”

Way to watch out for your family, Rep. Clyburn. Now, if you’d only show the same loyalty toward the taxpayers, you’d have it goin’ on.

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