Yesterday, the Republican National Committee awarded Matthias Shapiro the “first-ever” Grassroots Logic award for a YouTube video he made that purports to put the cost of health care reform in perspective. After the event, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, congratulated Shapiro on Twitter, writing, “Kudos again to [Shapiro] for receiving RNC award this AM for excellent grassroots web work.” Issa linked to a video of the award ceremony which had been posted on the official YouTube channel of the Republicans on the Oversight Committee, adding, “My staff made video”:
While the event itself was fairly unremarkable, it featured RNC chairman Michael Steele speaking behind a large RNC logo, clearly branding it as a political event. The use of the committee’s official YouTube channel to distribute political communications is a clear violation of House rules. As the House’s policy for use of web videos explains:
The official content of any material posted by the Member on any Web site must be in compliance with Federal law and House Rules and Regulations applicable to official communications and germane to the conduct of the Member’s official and representational duties.
More specifically, House rules stipulate that “materials (ie. photos, logos, or graphics) used in campaign literature” cannot be distributed using government resources.
Issa’s use of the committee YouTube channel to distribute a political video becomes almost laughable when considered in light of the fact that the jurisdiction of his committee includes investigating abuse of government resources. As the about section of the channel explains:
As the minority on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, we will work with our colleagues in the majority to exercise effective oversight over the federal government and will work proactively to investigate and expose waste, fraud, and abuse.
Perhaps Issa’s committee can begin by investigating themselves.