Press Release

On Schock’s Last Day in Congress, Recipients of Schock Money Should Repay Taxpayers

As Republican Representative Aaron Schock’s last day as a Member of Congress comes to a close, several House Republicans who received campaign donations from Schock have yet to remunerate taxpayers by donating those contributions. Before his fall from grace, Schock was a prolific fundraiser for a number his colleagues. It’s become clear that Schock also lined his pockets with thousands of dollars in taxpayer money, leading one Republican, David Jolly, to donate the money he received from Schock as a “an abundance of good faith.”

Two of Rep. Jolly’s House Republican colleagues – Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo and Illinois Rep. Bob Dold – insist that they do not have sufficient funds to return the Schock donations, when their campaign finance filings clearly tell a different story. To borrow a phrase from Rep. Jolly, their refusal to return the funds appears to be out of an abundance of bad faith.

“Today marks both scandal-ridden Aaron Schock’s last day in Congress and also the end of first quarter fundraising. House Republicans who gladly accepted donations from Schock should know that the DCCC will be scanning their upcoming FEC filings to see whether they have done right by the taxpayer and returned those contributions,”  said Matt Thornton of the DCCC.  “As long as these Republicans refuse to donate their Schock money to the Treasury, they remain closely linked to a disgraced former colleague facing an FBI investigation for abuse of taxpayer funds.”

Carlos Curbelo

Headline: Miami Herald: “Carlos Curbelo won’t return Aaron Schock money, saying he doesn’t have it anymore.” [Miami Herald, 3/20/15]

Curbelo Claimed Campaign Had No Money Remaining From 2014 Cycle To Return $10,000 Schock Contribution. “Curbelo received $10,000 from Schock’s PAC for his election last year. But the Miami Republican’s campaign ended in the red, so the money has been spent. ‘If the campaign had rolled over any funds from the 2014 cycle, it would have certainly considered donating the contributions to charity as was done in a previous case,’ said Nicole Rapanos, who managed the 2014 campaign. ‘However, the campaign has received no support from the political action committee in question during the current election cycle.’” [Miami Herald, 3/20/15]

Curbelo’s Latest FEC Report Shows Cash On Hand Balance Of More Than $10,000 – And Curbelo Repaid A $10,000 Loan To Himself. According to Curbelo’s year-end campaign finance report, his committee had $10,280.50 cash on hand at the end of the 2014 cycle. Additionally, his campaign finance report indicates that he repaid a $10,000 loan to himself. [FEC, filed 1/31/15]

Dold

Headline: Capitol Fax: “Dold doubles down on Schock money.” [Capitol Fax, 3/30/15]

Dold Claimed “Not One Penny” Of $10,000 Schock Contribution Remained In His Campaign Account. “Congressman Bob Dold still refuses to jettison disgraced Congressman Aaron Schock’s $10,000 campaign contribution. From the National Journal… “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already called on Republicans who accepted money from Schock to return their contributions, specifically highlighting Dold and other vulnerable House Republicans. Dold spokeswoman Danielle Hagen said that “not one penny of these contributions remain in Congressman Dold’s account.’” What, did Schock donate with marked $100 bills or something? Oh, come on, man. Your campaign committee is now $10,000 ahead of where it would’ve been had it not been for that Schock contribution. Give it away now.” [Capitol Fax, 3/30/15]

Dold’s Most Recent Campaign Finance Report Shows $191,656.25 Cash On Hand Balance. [FEC, filed 1/29/15]





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