To: The United States House of Representatives
Don't gut the Office of Congressional Ethics--strengthen it
Congress must strengthen the independent Office of Congressional Ethics and make its existence a permanent law--not part of House rules that must be renewed every two years.
Why is this important?
House Republicans just came dangerously close to dismantling the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, but public outrage forced them to reverse their course. Thousands of Americans spoke out against the GOP-led effort, and now we have a powerful opportunity to avoid this same debacle every two years.
According to The New York Times, "House Republicans, overriding their top leaders, voted on Monday to significantly curtail the power of an independent ethics office set up in 2008 in the aftermath of corruption scandals that sent three members of Congress to jail."
Yet, almost as quickly as the Republican plan was unveiled, it was swiftly mired in controversy and derailed. Public outrage and disagreement from within the GOP led the House to reverse course almost immediately.
The latest attempt to dismantle the Office of Congressional Ethics was nothing more than a coup by the foxes who want to guard the hen house once again. Before the creation of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, the House Ethics Committee turned a blind eye to too many abuses of its own ethics rules. The committee should not be given the chance to resume its longtime practice of sweeping rules violations under the rug.
When left to police its own, the committee has proven itself not up to the job, which has invariably led to scandals and even jail time for House members. It is significant that today is the eleven-year anniversary of the date when corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to three felonies. The scandal and the jail sentences meted out to Abramoff, Representative Bob Ney, and numerous congressional staffers, led directly to the creation of the Office of Congressional Ethics.
The Jack Abramoff scandal is a perfect example of why independent oversight of ethics in Congress must be preserved and strengthened--not gutted.
According to The New York Times, "House Republicans, overriding their top leaders, voted on Monday to significantly curtail the power of an independent ethics office set up in 2008 in the aftermath of corruption scandals that sent three members of Congress to jail."
Yet, almost as quickly as the Republican plan was unveiled, it was swiftly mired in controversy and derailed. Public outrage and disagreement from within the GOP led the House to reverse course almost immediately.
The latest attempt to dismantle the Office of Congressional Ethics was nothing more than a coup by the foxes who want to guard the hen house once again. Before the creation of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, the House Ethics Committee turned a blind eye to too many abuses of its own ethics rules. The committee should not be given the chance to resume its longtime practice of sweeping rules violations under the rug.
When left to police its own, the committee has proven itself not up to the job, which has invariably led to scandals and even jail time for House members. It is significant that today is the eleven-year anniversary of the date when corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to three felonies. The scandal and the jail sentences meted out to Abramoff, Representative Bob Ney, and numerous congressional staffers, led directly to the creation of the Office of Congressional Ethics.
The Jack Abramoff scandal is a perfect example of why independent oversight of ethics in Congress must be preserved and strengthened--not gutted.