The CREW "Family Affair" report, which included 41 Democrats and 55 Republicans, did not include Rep. Tim Bishop because, as is explained the introduction to the study, only the 337 members holding chairs or ranking members of House committees and subcommittees as well as the five House leadership positions were investigated by CREW. Rep. Bishop does not hold any of these positions. The summary found on the first page of the report states the following: "In light of several well publicized cases of members of Congress using their positions to financially benefit their family members, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (“CREW”) decided to undertake a systematic investigation to uncover the extent of this activity. CREW limited its investigation to 2002, 2004 and 2006 election cycles, and examined the 337 members of the House of Representatives who are the chairs or ranking members of House committees and subcommittees as well as the five House leadership positions: Speaker of the House, Majority and Minority Leaders and the Majority and Minority Whips. Some members of Congress who have been publicly criticized for paying family members, like Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), are not included in the report because they are neither committee chairs nor ranking members. There may well be other members who should have been included in the report but are not because -- as a result of name changes and a lack of available information -- CREW did not uncover the family relationships. Similarly, because members of Congress are not required to disclose their affiliation with political action committees (“PACs”), CREW inadvertently may have omitted PAC disbursements that should have been included."
Why Rep. Bishop was not included in CREW report
The CREW "Family Affair" report, which included 41 Democrats and 55 Republicans, did not include Rep. Tim Bishop because, as is explained the introduction to the study, only the 337 members holding chairs or ranking members of House committees and subcommittees as well as the five House leadership positions were investigated by CREW. Rep. Bishop does not hold any of these positions. The summary found on the first page of the report states the following: "In light of several well publicized cases of members of Congress using their positions to financially benefit their family members, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (“CREW”) decided to undertake a systematic investigation to uncover the extent of this activity. CREW limited its investigation to 2002, 2004 and 2006 election cycles, and examined the 337 members of the House of Representatives who are the chairs or ranking members of House committees and subcommittees as well as the five House leadership positions: Speaker of the House, Majority and Minority Leaders and the Majority and Minority Whips. Some members of Congress who have been publicly criticized for paying family members, like Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), are not included in the report because they are neither committee chairs nor ranking members. There may well be other members who should have been included in the report but are not because -- as a result of name changes and a lack of available information -- CREW did not uncover the family relationships. Similarly, because members of Congress are not required to disclose their affiliation with political action committees (“PACs”), CREW inadvertently may have omitted PAC disbursements that should have been included."