Neil Bush's education firm investigated

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Education is investigating claims of irregularities in purchases from a company owned by President George Bush's brother, Neil.

Neil Bush owns Ignite Learning of Austin, Texas, which markets a portable electronic classroom called Curriculum on Wheels, known as Cow.

In Washington, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics questioned whether school districts in Texas, Florida and Nevada should be using federal funding to purchase the $3,800 units, and the auditor general for the Department of Education, John Higgins, said he would investigate, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The company's Web site states it is appropriate to make purchases with funds allocated through the federal No Child Left Behind program, and company Vice President Ken Leonard said the source of districts' funds isn't the company's concern.

"We have absolutely no influence or control over decisions our individual customers make about how they choose to purchase our products," Leonard told the Times.