Ethics Newsline®

Panel will have authority to initiate investigations

WASHINGTON
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 229-182 last week to create an independent, outside ethics office with the authority to investigate Congress.

Congressional Quarterly reports that that new Office of Congressional Ethics will be composed of six members, three appointed by the majority party’s speaker and three appointed by the minority leader.

According to the Hill, a publication covering Congress, the panel will have the authority to initiate reviews of house members, conduct investigations, and refer their results, along with a public report, to the House ethics committee.

Current members of Congress, federal employees, and lobbyists would be ineligible for appointment to the six-member panel, CNN reports.

Creation of the independent office, the first of its kind in congressional history, came amid considerable controversy. Congress traditionally has been reluctant to submit to outside oversight, and many who opposed the measure say they fear it will be used as a political battering ram — with the public remembering only the initial charges and any exoneration by the ethics committee being seen as a cover-up.

The vote came as two members elected to the current Congress are under indictment, two have been sent to prison, and several others are under federal investigation, according to the Washington Post.

Sources: Washington Post, Mar. 13 — CNN, Mar. 13 — Hill, Mar. 13 — Congressional Quarterly, Mar. 12.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Mar. 3 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 18 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 10, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 3, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 24, 2007.