FEC Holds Prospective Candidate’s Disability Benefits Not Earned Income
WASHINGTON — A prospective political candidate’s disability benefits do not constitute earned income under the Federal Election Campaign Act and therefore cannot be used by his principal campaign committee in salary calculations.
Matthew Hoh, a Marine Corps combat veteran, has been classified as 100% disabled by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and he intends to run in the primary for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina.
When he declared his candidacy in January, Hoh had said he hoped to receive a salary from his campaign committee while continuing to receive disability benefits.
On review the commission noted that both the Act and its underlying regulations prohibit anyone from converting campaign funds to personal use, and that the payment of a salary to a candidate by their campaign committee is a “per se” personal use unless certain specific requirements are met.
One such requirement is that the salary payments not exceed the lesser of the minimum salary paid to a holder of the office sought, or the earned income the candidate received during the year prior to the candidacy.
A candidate’s earned income determines what, if any, amount of campaign funds can be used to pay the candidate a salary.
Delving further into Hoh’s specific circumstances, the commission also noted that the Act and its underlying regulations do not define the term earned income. However, in defining personal funds, the Act lists earned income along with salary as income derived from employment and distinct from other more passive forms of income.
As a result, the commission concluded that construing the term earned income as excluding the prospective candidate’s VA disability would be consistent with the use of the term in the Act and commission regulations.
“As a result, these benefits may not be used to calculate any salary that Hoh may receive from campaign funds,” it said in its notice of decision.
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