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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2008 |
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Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office) |
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HOLT SUPPORTS EFFORT TO ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT
‘OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS’
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(Washington, DC) – Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) last night joined a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to support a resolution to establish an Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent, non-partisan panel with the power to initiate investigations of Members of the House of Representatives. The Office of Congressional Ethics would be comprised of six individuals appointed jointly by the Speaker and the Minority Leader. Three of the members of the office would be nominated by the Speaker with the concurrence of the Minority Leader and three members would be nominated by the Minority Leader with the concurrence of the Speaker. Current members of Congress and lobbyists would not be eligible to serve on the panel. Investigations could only be initiated by the panel if supported by a Democratic and Republican member of the panel.
“The scandals that have embroiled Congress over the last few years because of the unethical conduct of certain Members have eroded the faith that Americans have in our legislative branch of government,” Holt said. “What has only deepened this cynicism is the belief that Congress does a very poor job in investigating the ethical lapses of its own Members. This initiative would create an independent voice that can help us get above the partisanship and rancor that too often accompany these types of investigations.”
The new commission would screen ethics allegations made against House members and pass matters along to the House Ethics Committee for their review. The OCE would have the responsibility to make findings of fact regarding a potential ethics matter and to recommend to the House Ethics Committee whether the matter should be the subject of a further inquiry.
The resolution was supported by public interest groups, including Common Cause, U.S. PIRG, and Democracy 21, and experts such as Norman Ornstein at the American Enterprise Institute and Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institute.
“At the beginning of the 110th Congress, the Speaker said we must drain the swamp,” Holt said. “We made some changes to the House Rules and passed legislation that mandated more extensive limits on gifts and travel, greater disclosure of activities by lobbyists, helped slow the revolving door of Members of Congress and staff to lobbying on behalf of private interests, and brought greater transparency to the earmark process. Last night, we took further steps.”
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