Wednesday, March 12, 2008

House Approves Outside Ethics Panel

With a vote of 229 to 182, the House passed H.Res. 895 to create a new independent panel, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The new body will be able to initiate investigations of possible misconduct. Those who opposed creating the panel charged that it would encourage partisan complaints. After a proposal was pulled from the floor twice recently with clear bipartisan doubts, chairman of the ethics task force Representative Michael Capuano (D-MA) made changes to alleviate some concerns. For example, an investigation can only begin when one panel member appointed by the speaker and another by the minority leader agree.

The New York Times reports that "creating a panel of six people of 'exceptional public standing,' the House, for the first time, delegated the authority for regulating behavior in the House to nonlawmakers. Current members of the House, federal employees and anyone who has been a registered lobbyist in the past year would be ineligible."

Overall, the new Office of Congressional Ethics was sought to strengthen the internal ethics review process, and as a response to the voters' view of an unethical Congress. As Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) commented; "[During the last election] you know what the people thought about this, the People's House that we love. And that, my friends, is why we're in the majority. Because the people thought changes were necessary in this House. The people asked for change. They asked for accountability."