Congressional candidates break ethics policy

Members of the House and Senate who served in the military routinely violate a Defense Department ethics policy that regulates how they can use their experience in uniform when campaigning for office.

Often they fail to run a required disclaimer that says they are not endorsed by the armed forces.

A review of incumbent reservists and veterans in both chambers of Congress show that 58 of the 81 who served appear in a uniform or mention their military experience on their campaign website or in campaign mailers. Only 13 of the 58 include the disclaimer.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-San Diego, was the only member from the San Diego area who is a veteran that didn’t include the disclosure.

The candidates span the two major political parties and include members serving their first terms as well as seasoned legislators.

Issa mentions his service as an enlisted soldier and later as an Army officer on both his website and in a recent campaign mailer targeted to veterans. His district includes Camp Pendleton as well as parts of northern San Diego County and southern Orange County that are favorite retirement spots for people who served.

Issa’s mailer includes a picture of an officer pinning on rank to a young Issa’s shirt collar. Another shows him with a parachute strapped to his back and a helmet on his head as he participates in jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1975. The mailer does not include any sort of disclosure.

The pictures are old and don’t give the impression of backing from the armed forces, said Issa’s campaign spokesman, Calvin Moore, who questioned whether the disclaimer was needed.

“When you look at the photos from 30 years ago, they’re from a scrapbook, and certainly we’d be the first ones to fix it if there is something wrong there,” Moore said.

The Issa campaign added a disclosure to its website on Friday afternoon after inquires from the Union-Tribune. Moore said they wanted to be sure they complied with the Defense Department policy.

Issa’s opponent, retired Marine Col. Doug Applegate, a Democrat, also has a description of his military career and pictures of himself in uniform on his website. Applegate included a disclaimer that says he is no longer in the military and that he is not endorsed by either the Corps or its parent organizations, the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense.

The incumbents who use their experience in the military in their re-election campaign materials range from the country’s most prominent veteran in office today, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, to Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, a first-term congressman who served as an officer in the Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq. Both included pictures of themselves in uniform, a practice the Defense Department says is acceptable for veterans, but not without the “prominent and clearly displayed disclaimer.”

Archived copies of McCain’s website from his 2008 campaign for president also lack the disclosure. Neither the Moulton nor the McCain campaigns returned a request for comment.

The Defense Department has a longstanding policy of encouraging its members and veterans to be active citizens, but it also wants to make sure that it doesn’t appear to back a candidacy, Air Force Maj. Ben Sakrisson said.

“The rules reflect the fact that military service and uniform worn are in service to our nation and Constitution and not to a political party or candidate,” he said.

The policy applies to printed campaign material, as well as online content, including social media accounts that make reference to a candidate’s service, Sakrisson said.

The regulations don’t make any reference to sanctions against a violator, but Sakrisson said that the policy is enforced by the relevant branch of the armed forces, or the candidate’s reserve or national guard component.

Many members of Congress follow the regulation. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, isn’t shy to talk about his time serving in the Marine Corps, his deployments as an artillery officer, and his affinity for the military. His campaign website includes texts about his time in the service, pictures of him in uniform — and the disclaimer.

The House Committee on Veterans Affairs lists 81 veterans from active duty and reserve units as a representative or delegate in that chamber, while four veterans in the Senate are also running for re-election.

A review of their websites show that the vast majority make a reference to their military service in their effort to get re-elected. How they reference their military service varies from a passing mention of an enlistment after high school, to details about the commands they served in. Most candidates just use text when referencing their service. But 17 use a photo, a display specifically the Defense Department says must be accompanied with a disclosure. Of the incumbents with a photo, 10 have a disclaimer.

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