Ethics panel cleared Bass for $95K USC scholarship: report

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) received approval from the House Ethics Committee to accept a significant scholarship from the University of Southern California (USC) School of Social Work, a move that has now called into question the university’s motives in providing the scholarship. 

Bass received the scholarship, worth more than $95,000, during her first year in Congress in 2011. Bass graduated from USC in 2015 and has said the program increased her understanding of child welfare policy, according to the Los Angeles Times.

She told the Times that she accepted the scholarship and got her graduate degree because it would “assist me in being a member of Congress focused on an area of policy that impacted the young people in my district and around the country.” 

But now, USC’s efforts to connect with local politicians have become the subject of increased scrutiny.

Bass did not apply directly to the program but instead was offered the scholarship by Marilyn Flynn, then the dean of USC’s social work school. Flynn was indicted last month for allegedly giving the son of then-L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas a scholarship and job in 2017 and 2018 in return for USC being awarded government contracts. Flynn and Ridley-Thomas have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges they now face, the Times reported.

According to a 2011 letter to Bass from the House Ethics Committee, Flynn told officials that she personally made the decision to give the scholarship to Bass without any application because she viewed Bass as a “worthy recipient,” the Times said.

In a statement to the times, USC said that it could not comment on “what policies and procedures were in place at the School of Social Work 10 years ago,” as the social work program was under “new leadership.”

The scholarship went unlisted on the congresswoman’s disclosure forms until 2019, a result of what Bass said was an error made by her former chief of staff, the Times noted.

Bass, a candidate in the 2022 mayoral race Los Angeles, has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Though she has met with leaders from the private university, Bass has not put forth any legislation that benefits the school, per the Times.

The Hill has contacted Bass and USC for comment.