4 Ind. representatives questioned after sending staff to anti-gay group

The actions of four Indiana U.S. representatives were called into question last Tuesday.

Republicans Larry Bucshon, Dan Burton, Todd Rokita and Todd Young of Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, which encompasses Bloomington, used funds from their congressional office accounts to send staffers to seminar training at the Indiana Family Institute in April.

The representatives’ offices paid a total of $2,500 in taxpayer funds to the institute for the monthly Hoosier Congressional Policy Leadership Series.

“The program’s mission is to advance conservative and faith-based servant leadership principles with community leaders from all parts of the Hoosier state,” according to the institute’s website.

Last week, the Human Rights Campaign, the largest Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender civil rights organization in the U.S., condemned the representatives’ payments to the institute, arguing that the transfer of funds points to overt political alliances and agendas.

The institute is a state affiliate of the Family Research Council, an organization regarded as an anti-GLBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The public policy portion of the institute website states, “The IFI worked behind the scenes with key legislators and allied organizations to ensure the legislation (of House Joint Resolution 6, which would move Indiana toward legally defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman) would not only stop same-sex ‘marriage’ and so called ‘civil unions,’ but also stand up to the inevitable legal challenges that will be launched by homosexual activists.”

Bucshon’s office countered the campaign’s denouncement, maintaining that because the institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, no funding can be shared between them and their umbrella organization’s political action committee.

While House rules prohibit the use of public funds for political purposes, seminar-related expenses are permissible under the same rules.

“We make very clear that those taxpayer dollars were not used to fund a political organization,” said Matthew Ballard, communications director for Bucshon.

Ryan McCann, director of operations and public policy at the institute, emphasized that the political and nonprofit portions of the group are legally separate.

McCann said the nonprofit portion of his organization is legally and financially independent of the political action committee,with separate bank accounts and personnel.

McCann also stated that while the congressional funds are used to pay for seminar staff, guest speakers and a trip to Washington, D.C., the institute generally loses money on the leadership series each year.

Human Rights Online Campaign Director Dan Rafter, however, said he believes that the payments to the institute indicate political issues beyond financial endorsement.

“These are lawmakers giving money to a group that is extremely anti-gay,” Rafter said. “There is leadership at the FRC who have regularly said horrible things about gay Americans. It’s a pretty jarring message to be sending the public, that these lawmakers are giving money to this organization.

“We’re working with legislators who will stop at nothing to halt progress. It’s also good to be aware that these lawmakers are out of step with the majority of Americans.”

In their 2011 poll, “Public Opinion and the Defense of Marriage Act,” the Human Rights Campaign, in partnership with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, found that 51 percent of voters oppose the act while 34 percent favor it.

“It’s up to the congressional offices and their staff where they want to get continuing education and training on these issues,” McCann said.

“If what we do is abide by the law and provide an educational service for congressional staffers, then there’s nothing wrong with that.”