Washington, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) today voted to establish the Office of Congressional Ethics which would bring greater accountability and transparency to the ethics enforcement process by requiring an independent review of alleged ethics violations by individuals who are not Members of Congress.
This legislation was approved by a vote of 229-182.
“Establishing this new office is another step in changing the way Washington does business. I have always believed that public office is a public trust and this new office will help to hold every member accountable for his or her actions,” said Etheridge.
At the start of the 110th Congress, Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Boehner (R-OH) appointed the eight-member, bipartisan Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement. A series of ethical scandals involving former Reps. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, Tom DeLay, Bob Ney and Mark Foley (R-FL) underscored the need to examine ways in which to strengthen the enforcement of ethics in the U.S. House. The Task Force released a report on December 19 that proposed an independent board to investigate alleged violations of the code of conduct, House rules, laws and regulations.
The Office of Congressional Ethics will be comprised of six individuals appointed jointly by the Speaker and the Minority Leader. Current members of Congress and lobbyists would not be eligible to serve on the panel. The panel would have the power to initiate investigations of Members of Congress if supported by a Democratic and Republican member of the panel.
Because the panel is intended to supplement the work of the Standards of Official Conduct Committee, the panel would report its findings to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and recommend whether the Committee should take further action. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct would have to complete action and make its actions public within 45 calendar days or five legislative days, whichever is longer.
On the first day of the new 110th Congress, the House voted to make changes to the House rules, such as barring members from accepting gifts from lobbyists, restricting travel funded by lobbyists, restricting flights on corporate jets, and requiring certain disclosures for earmarked projects. In August, 2007, the House enacted tough new lobbying reform laws.