╌>

House GOP guts ethics panel

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  pj  •  7 years ago  •  34 comments

House GOP guts ethics panel

House GOP guts ethics panel

By Deirdre Walsh and Daniella Diaz, CNN

Updated 9:02 PM ET, Mon January 2, 2017

The amendment was proposed by Republican Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte

This move would weaken ethics oversight in Congress

Washington (CNN)House Republicans voted 119-74 Monday night in favor of a proposal that would gut Congress' outside ethics watchdog and remove its independence.

Republican Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte's proposal would place the independent Office of Congressional Ethics -- an initial watchdog for House members but without power to punish members -- under oversight of those very lawmakers.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other top GOP leaders opposed the change to ethics rules, but rank-and-file members disregarded their views and voted to approve the new structure for ethics reviews going forward, according to a senior House GOP leadership source familiar with the closed door discussion.

The proposal would bar the panel from reviewing any violation of criminal law by members of Congress, requiring that it turn over any complaint to the House Ethics Committee or refer the matter to an appropriate federal law enforcement agency. The House Ethics Committee would also have the power to stop an investigation at any point and bars the ethics office from making any public statements about any matters or hiring any communications staff.

And the ethics office would no longer be able to accept or investigate any anonymous reports of alleged wrongdoing by members of Congress.

The full House of Representatives will now vote on it as part of a larger rules package up for consideration on Tuesday.

Goodlatte argued that changing the ethics review process "strengthens the mission" of the office and it will remain the panel to review potential rules violations.

"It also improves upon due process rights for individuals under investigation, as well as witnesses called to testify. The (ethics office) has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work," Goodlatte said in a written statement Monday evening.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi slammed the move.

"Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress," she said in a statement Monday following the vote.

Pelosi added: "The amendment Republicans approved tonight would functionally destroy this office."

Nancy Pelosi 

✔@NancyPelosi

Tmrw @HouseGOP will destroy the office that provides independent ethics process. So much for draining the swamp. http://www.democraticleader.gov/newsroom/12172/ 

8:11 PM - 2 Jan 2017

Pelosi Statement on Republicans Destroying Office of Congressional Ethics in Rules Package -...

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement after the House Republican Conference voted to include the Goodlatte amendment in the House Republicans Rules...

democraticleader.gov

But GOP Rep. Hal Rogers, the Appropriations Committee chairman, told reporters he backed the proposal because "it's the right thing to do."

Rogers said there were "numerous examples" of members "who were falsely accused by this group who had to spend a fortune to get their good name restored so I think there's been an abuse."

Texas Congressman Bill Flores also backed the change saying the panel is "out of control‎, we don't even get constitutional rights, constitutional protections. They don't tell us who accuses us and they leak the data -- they are out of control."

Currently the ethics panel operates as an independent, non-partisan entity that has the power to investigate misconduct against lawmakers, officers and staff of the United States House of Representatives. Originally created by Congress under Pelosi's speakership in the wake of multiple lobbying scandals, it continued to act as an independent body under then-House Speaker John Boehner.

The proposal carries the appearance of House members taking power away from the office that can investigate them for misconduct.

Members of both parties complain that panel often takes up matters based on partisan accusations from outside groups with political motivations, and once they launch a probe members have to mount expensive defense campaigns.

But outside ethics group point to the ethics panel as the only real entity policing members and argue its independent status and bipartisan board are an appropriate way to oversee investigations.

"Gutting the independent ethics office is exactly the wrong way to start a new Congress," said Chris Carson, spokesperson for League of Women Voters, in a statement. "This opens the door for special interest corruption just as the new Congress considers taxes and major infrastructure spending."

Norman Eisen and Richard Painter, of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit watchdog group said the ethics office "has played a critical role in seeing that the congressional ethics process is no longer viewed as merely a means to sweep problems under the rug."

"If the 115th Congress begins with rules amendments undermining (the ethics office), it is setting itself up to be dogged by scandals and ethics issues for years and is returning the House to dark days when ethics violations were rampant and far too often tolerated," they said in a Monday night statement.

Eisen served as the top ethics lawyer for President Barack Obama and Painter held the same job under President George W. Bush.

CNN's Tal Kopan contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/02/politics/office-of-congressional-ethics-oversight-of-ethics-committee-amendment/


Tags

jrDiscussion - desc
[]
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
link   seeder  PJ    7 years ago

Currently the ethics panel operates as an independent, non-partisan entity that has the power to investigate misconduct against lawmakers, officers and staff of the United States House of Representatives. Originally created by Congress under Pelosi's speakership in the wake of multiple lobbying scandals, it continued to act as an independent body under then-House Speaker John Boehner.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
link   JohnRussell    7 years ago

I don't think Democrats or Republicans are necessarily more ethical than the other. 

I do think Donald Trump is the most corrupt person ever to run for president and has no interest in ethics whatsoever. 

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
link   Nowhere Man    7 years ago

I think your going to find, anything created by the Democrat majority from 2008-10 is going to become a target.

Especially if it is wholly supported by democrat and republican establishment types.

In this case Pelosi & Boehner.

Haven't had a chance to review this agencies actual performance, so I'm not willing to jump on the bandwagon of arguing a creating/desiring of a more lax approach to ethics issues that some might harp.

Seems like both Democrats and Republicans would like this agency to go away. Many arguing redundancy and violations of rights of house members. Also being an outside agency (outside the government) it could be construed as a blackmail device to control the House or certain of it's members with threats of investigation. (not a good thing at all)

And being a creation of Nancy Pelosi's does make it a ripe target of progressive bureaucracy, low hanging fruit.

Will have to wait and see on this one. Good to look at it with a questioning eye, but one must find out what it's actual function was and did it really function in it stated capacity. OR, was it a cover for something it wasn't.

Hard to tell.

But I expect a good hard progressive defense of such an agency. they just love more and more bureaucracy, as much of it as they can create.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   Kavika   replied to  Nowhere Man   7 years ago

It was Trump that stopped it, along with calls from their constituents made the republicans back off. Nothing to do with liberals/progressives....

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
link   seeder  PJ  replied to  Kavika   7 years ago

Is that a question Kavika?  I would say that the GOP Representatives have constituents that are democrats, republicans and independents.  And yes, the Democratic Representatives going on the air and broadcasting last night helped also.  

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   Kavika   replied to  PJ   7 years ago

No, not a question Pj. It was a response to this.

''But I expect a good hard progressive defense of such an agency. they just love more and more bureaucracy, as much of it as they can create.''

I'm sure that there were dems/repubs/independents that were involved in the calling as well.

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
link   seeder  PJ  replied to  Kavika   7 years ago

okay - i wasn't sure if it was to me or someone else.  lol

 
 
 
Spikegary
Junior Quiet
link   Spikegary  replied to  Kavika   7 years ago

Seems we attribute a lot of legislative shenanigans to someone that doesn't even hold power at this time.  And won't be part of the Legislature when he does.  Pray tell, how did Trump make this happen?  How many Republicans are marching to his tune?

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   Kavika   replied to  Spikegary   7 years ago

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-with-2-tweets-helps-push-gop-reversal-on-ethics/2017/01/04/8bcfb26e-d25a-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3_story.html?utm_term=.c5fe6ff7116f

 
 
 
Spikegary
Junior Quiet
link   Spikegary  replied to  Kavika   7 years ago
"It was Trump that stopped it" Amazing the power he wields.....
 
 
 
1ofmany
Sophomore Silent
link   1ofmany  replied to  Spikegary   7 years ago

Which congressman said that he/she changed position based on a tweet?

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
link   seeder  PJ    7 years ago

Paul Ryan and other Republican leaders were opposed to shutting down the Ethics Office.  Even they understood the importance of having an independent entity to review ethical issues.  Now that task will be folded into a committee so it looks like they will be policing themselves.   That generally isn't a good formula for transparency.  

 
 
 
1ofmany
Sophomore Silent
link   1ofmany    7 years ago

This panel has been under attack by both sides every few years. They seem pretty evenhanded since they investigate at least as many democrats as republicans. But it's always going to be tough when your job is basically biting the hand that feeds you.

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
link   JohnRussell    7 years ago

The people in Congress that want to bury this sort of thing think, probably rightfully, that the public doesn't care and in a day or two everyone will forget about this story. They are right, no? 

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
link   seeder  PJ    7 years ago

I was hoping this article would get more attention.  I'm interested in hearing from President Elect Trump supporters on their thoughts about the GOP making this decision and what their expectations are from President Elect Trump on this issue.  

Any takers?

 
 
 
1ofmany
Sophomore Silent
link   1ofmany    7 years ago

This is a political football. Most of the ethics problems stem from politicians needing to raise money for elections. If they don't raise as much money as they can, they may lose. The more they scramble to raise money, the more likely it is that they will trigger an ethics problem. An ethics violation is not a crime and there's no real punishment for it but it can trigger a voter backlash and they may lose an election. A catch 22 for many in congress. So the next time a congressman gets in the paper for an ethics problem, democrats will kick the football at republicans and say that they gutted the ethics panel. Republicans will kick it back and say you didn't like the panel either (having at least as many ethics problems as we do) but were too spineless to do anything. Somebody will dredge up campaign finance reform as an answer. They'll kick that around until the public falls back asleep and we'll be right back where we started. 

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
link   seeder  PJ  replied to  1ofmany   7 years ago

1ofmany - Republicans can claim that both parties had issues with how the current Ethics Office was functioning but only one party voted behind closed doors and that's the same party that controls what is brought to the floor for debate and action.  

Whether this was appropriate or not I think you can at least agree the optics don't look good and are in contrast to what one of President Elect Trump's items that he ran on and in which voters voted him in to do.  This, imo, will only highlight the fact that those Republicans who voted to shut down the Ethics Office are indeed establishment and must go.

 

 
 
 
1ofmany
Sophomore Silent
link   1ofmany  replied to  PJ   7 years ago

Pj -- I don't think the optics look good either. However, the establishment GOP will on both sides of the issue. As I said, I think the real issue is campaign finance reform which never seems to get anywhere because money and politics have become inseparable.

 
 
 
PJ
Masters Quiet
link   seeder  PJ  replied to  1ofmany   7 years ago

Well the good news is that the vote fell through and the Ethics Office has survived although I agree it definitely needs some reforms.  

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
link   Hal A. Lujah    7 years ago

I can't even imagine the reaction by my fellow engineering societies at a proposal to remove an ethics panel for professional engineers.  Politics is such a sleazy occupation in comparison to engineering - too bad the two are so integrated.  I would like to see this particular swamp drained, so hopefully this doesn't fizzle out with a tweet.  

 
 
 
1ofmany
Sophomore Silent
link   1ofmany    7 years ago

Trump thinks congress should have an independent panel to ensure ethical standards (at least for now). However, he seemingly plans to self-regulate the conflict of interest issues created by his own vast financial holdings, the extent of which is not completely known because he hasn't filed any tax returns. Seems like a gigantic double standard to me. 

I was reading the 25th amendment and wondering the extent to which he can deem himself unable to perform duties that create a conflict of interest and then delegate all or some of those duties temporarily to the Vice President. It's never been done before but then we've never had this problem before either.

 
 
 
Aeonpax
Freshman Silent
link   Aeonpax    7 years ago

Trump, with 2 tweets, helps push GOP reversal on ethic s - These are strange times we live in. Rule by tweet.

 
 
 
Nowhere Man
Junior Guide
link   Nowhere Man  replied to  Aeonpax   7 years ago

What ever works....

 
 
 
Spikegary
Junior Quiet
link   Spikegary  replied to  Nowhere Man   7 years ago

Considering he's not even in office and was able to preempt something that shouldn't have been on the block.  I guess his style works.

 
 
 
1ofmany
Sophomore Silent
link   1ofmany  replied to  Aeonpax   7 years ago

Wait till he gets his official pen.

 
 

Who is online




88 visitors