Bunning's foundation raises questions
Due to his Hall of Fame status, Bunning can command fees signing autographs for baseball memorabilia collectors. As a Senator, his outside income is limited due to ethics rules, but he can put these fees into his charitable foundation.
However, as his personal financial disclosures available on LegiStorm show, most of the foundation's payouts have gone to Bunning himself. In 2001, Bunning received $15,000 in salary from his foundation. Every year since then, he's reported earning $20,000 in salary. Overall, the Herald-Leader reports that since Bunning's foundation was created, it has raised $504,000 and Bunning has been paid $180,000 in salary. The foundation's charitable donations have totaled $136,435 - with the largest donations going to churches Bunning attends.
The foundation was approved by the Senate Ethics Committee and the IRS when it was created, but several people raised questions in the Herald-Leader's story about the proportion of money that has gone to Bunning's salary as well as the board setup. Rick Robinson - a lobbyist who is one of three members of the foundation's board (along with Bunning's wife and a family friend of the Bunnings) - told the paper the foundation is trying to build a large enough cash reserve so it could give donations using only interest generated by investments. However, he could offer no plan to do so.
Bunning has included records of the foundation's income and expense with his Senate financial disclosure each year. However, the Herald-Leader article shows one way in which members of Congress may be able to skirt outside income limits.
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