U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Dem – TX 30th) has awarded $25,000 in scholarships to her own grandson and to a top aide’s children. In total Johnson gave out 23 awards since 2005 violating Congressional Black Caucus Foundation eligibility rules which prohibit nepotism and require the recipients of the scholarships to live within the representatives congressional district.

15 scholarships went to two of Johnson’s grandsons, two great-nephews and Johnson’s aide Rod Givens’ children. The awards were distributed between 2005 and 2008. Additional awards were given to relatives in 2009 bringing the total amount awarded to $25,000.

The Dallas Morning News reports:

“Ethics experts called Johnson's actions troubling and potentially problematic for her, given that the scholarships violated anti-nepotism rules and went to students who neither live nor study in her district or any other represented by a member of the black caucus, as required.

“’That looks bad,’ said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a watchdog group. ‘This is just wrong. A member shouldn't do this.’”

The Congressional Black Caucus distributes $10,000 in scholarships annually to each member to award to worthy recipients in their district. Johnson said that all qualified applicants got a share of the scholarship funds each year, and that she might not have picked her own grandchildren and relatives for scholarships had there been more qualified applicants.

Johnson represents a district which includes downtown Dallas, Northeast Dallas, South Dallas, Fair Park, East Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove, Balch Springs, DeSoto, Lancaster, Huthins and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Glen Heights, Wilmer and Ovilla.

Johnson has admitted to the wrong-doing, but says she committed the violations of the scholarship rules “unknowingly.” Johnson has also said that she will begin use of a “non-biased third party objective review committee to evaluate applications for scholarships.”

The Dallas Morning News reports:

“She emphasized that she is the only Democratic member of Congress in the Dallas area. ‘Much of my district office casework benefits people outside my constituency,’ she said.

“In 2009, Johnson picked 12 students to split $10,000 from two scholarship programs, according to foundation records released Monday. Eight students got one scholarship. The four other students – the congresswoman's grandsons, Kirk and David Johnson, and her staffer's son and daughter, Julian and Mariyah Givens – got two apiece.

“Each individual scholarship was worth $625, so the relatives of Johnson and Givens each got $1,250.

“A foundation official said Monday the group expects restitution, though it wasn't initially clear whether that would come from the congresswoman or the recipients, who range in age from 19 to 26.”

“Foundation records indicate that more than a third of the foundation scholarships she has awarded since 2005 went to her relatives or those of her aide.”

Bernice Johnson issued a written statement Monday night saying, "While I am not ashamed of helping, I did not intentionally mean to violate any rules in the process. To rectify this matter immediately, I will reimburse the funds by the end of this week."

Eddie Bernice Johnson is the latest member of the Congressional Black Caucus to come under fire for ethical violations.

Charles Rangel (D-NY) is involved in an ethics investigation related to sponsorship of a trip he and four other CBC members took to St. Martin. Rangel is also being investigated by Congress for charges of tax violations and unpaid taxes.

Maxine Waters (D-CA), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, has been investigated for setting up a meeting for One United Bank. Waters’ husband owns stock in the bank.

Back in June, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Oh) along with 19 other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, attempted to restrict the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics. Their proposal would have prevented the ethics office from publicizing probes and made it harder to initiate investigations. The proposal also sought to carve out a 60 day exception for members of Congress currently running for political office.

The proposal was defeated by the members of the CBC.