Group questions Hall’s nepotism

28 Jun 2007 // U.S. Congressman Ralph Hall, R-Texas, is open about the thousands of dollars he paid relatives with campaign funds. He said he’s completely within the rules and he will continue along his current path unless the laws are changed. Hall’s expenditures to his son’s law firm and daughter-in-law Jody were recently released in a report called “Family Affair” by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, also known as CREW. The report also looked at numerous other members of Congress. According to CREW, the report was the result of an analysis of what they call the misuse of power by chairmen and top ranking members of all House committees and subcommittees and other top leadership positions.

In a statement, Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said it was their hope the report “spearheads a public debate leading to changes in existing law to end these abuses.” Hall said the building he rents for his campaign office is a building he owned until he sold it to his sons about 15 years ago. According to the CREW report, over a six-year period Hall has directed $68,000 in campaign funds to his sons’ company, Hall Law Offices. Hall said the building had been used as a law or campaign office for many years, when in 1980 it became his permanent campaign office. During the ’90s Hall sold the building to the Hall Law firm, of which he’s not a member.

“I have been reporting this campaign location for 27 years as required by law. The arrangement is perfectly fine within the law and I intend to continue unless the law is changed,” he said. Hall said he pays $1,500 a month in rent and does look for comparable rentals in the same block to negotiate price. He said he likes the property’s location on a corner block in Rockwall and likes its easy accessibility to constituents. Hall said there is plenty of work and storage space and a vault for campaign operations.

On the subject of his daughter-in-law, Jody Hall, the congressman said he’s paid her since 1987 to handle all campaign contributions and expenditures. The money, he said, is in line with federal cost of living increases. According to the report, Jody Hall has been paid more than $180,000 between 2001 and 2006. “Jody devotes full time to the job and it gives me peace of mind to know that she has my best interests at heart and that I can reach her any time of the day or night,” he said.

However, CREW, a nonprofit legal watchdog group, is concerned by the widespread use of family members in campaigns, even though there is nothing illegal about it. The group calls “the practice of lawmakers using their congressional positions as profit centers for family members” troubling. Hall said he learned by watching others, like former Congressman Dick Armey, that “family members are the most trustworthy in handling financial responsibilities.” Hall said an Armey employee, who held the same position with Armey as Jody Hall does, embezzled $30,000 that was never returned. The employee was reportedly extremely difficult to prosecute. Hall said it’s not the only instance.

Hall said Jody Hall’s salary her first full-time year in 1988 was $18,900. With cost of living increases and more expensive races, her salary is now $36,000. “Her salary has been consistently reported quarterly for 20 consecutive years,” he said. Hall listed Jody Hall’s special skills as overseeing fund-raisers, preparing required Federal Election Commission reports, writing thousands of mass mail-out letters leading up to an election, preparing and distributing postcards to be sent before elections and general secretarial duties.

“No one else would be so available,” he said. Hall also said it’s the first year he’s contracted with professional fund-raisers, paying them $1,000 per month and a percentage of their collections from sources other than within Texarkana. “Again, total requirements under the law have been met,” he said. “I would not involve my darling daughter-in-law, nor anyone else, in anything questionable.”