Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) is facing new ethics questions following the release of a report by the Office of Congressional Conduct calling for a full-scale probe into an earmark she obtained for a Florida nonprofit, among other allegations.
The House Ethics Committee released a statement on Thursday stating that it had received a referral from OCC one year ago regarding the earmark, which may have ended up going to a for-profit entity in violation of House rules, according to the independent watchdog. The Ethics Committee was required to release the OCC report after one year if the matter hadn’t been resolved.
OCC also looked into whether the third-term Florida Democrat “may have accepted campaign contributions linked to an official action”; “may have dispensed special favors or privileges to friends in connection with her congressional office’s requests for community project funding”; Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign “may have misreported the source of campaign contribution or accepted a campaign contribution made by one person in the name of another”; and other issues.
The independent ethics watchdog voted unanimously to send the case onto the Ethics Committee.
In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick noted “The Committee on Ethics has not yet concluded its review of the allegations, and no decision has been made at this time.”
Cherfilus-McCormick – like a lot of members these days – didn’t cooperate with OCC investigators.
The Florida Democrat has been the target of a special investigative subcommittee probe since December 2023 following a previous OCC referral over alleged campaign finance violations. These new allegations will also be reviewed by the special subcommittee.
The earmark in question in this latest case was for $5 million in FY 2023 directed to the Figgers Tablets for Telemedicine, which comes under the aegis of the Figgers Foundation, a Florida non-profit.
The funding was to “support the manufacture and distribution of 15,000 enhanced telehealth enabled tablet computers to low-income senior citizens, particularly senior veterans, and families of children with disabilities in Florida’s 20th United States Congressional District,” according to Cherfilus-McCormick’s letter to the House Appropriations Committee.
In the second half of 2023, three members of the Figgers family donated nearly $20,000 to Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign, according to FEC records.
