Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to Reinstate Certain Provisions of the Rules Relating to Procedures of the Committee on Standards

AMENDING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO REINSTATE CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE RULES RELATING TO PROCEDURES OF THE COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT TO THE FORM IN WHICH THOSE PROVISIONS EXISTED AT THE CLOSE OF THE 108th CONGRESS -- (House of Representatives - April 27, 2005)

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, this resolution is long, long, long overdue. We should not have to be here today at all. We should not have to fix something that the Republicans broke for no good reason.

Let us be clear and honest about this. The ethics rules are not being reinstated today because suddenly the majority has had a change of heart. They are being reinstated because the American people have been outraged by Republican attempts to dismantle the ethics process. They have demanded that the House do the right thing. They have demanded that we restore the sensible, bipartisan procedure we used to have.

We have heard a lot of complaints from some on the other side about the politicization of this ethics process; but, Mr. Speaker, the partisan politics are coming from the other side. In fact, the Republican leadership is still playing politics.

In my hand is a copy of some of the talking points put out by the House Republican Conference on this rule change. Here are just a few samples of the poisonous rhetoric being put out today by the other side.

They accuse the Democrats of ``questionable motives''; a ``cynical attempt to corrupt the process''; ``partisan hackery in the guise of `good government.'''

These talking points have the audacity to claim that Republicans are now taking the high road. Hardly. Their low-ball tactics continue, and I will insert these into the RECORD at this point so the American people can see what is going on here.

Return to the Rules of the 108th Congress

Despite the best good-faith efforts of the Ethics Committee Chairman and the Republican Leadership, House Democrats have left no way to restart the ethics process without a full and complete return to the Rules of the 108th Congress. For the good of the House, an operating but flawed Ethics Committee is preferable to a more equitable, but non-operational Committee.

House Republicans stand by the changes made to the rules of the House at the outset of the 109th Congress, but believe it is more important for the institution to have a functioning Ethics Committee that may be flawed, than to have a more perfect, but non-operational Committee.

The three major rules changes made at the start of this Congress greatly increased the bipartisan nature of the ethics process, prevented the Ethics Committee from being used as a political tool, and ensured fairness for Members targeted by politically motivated charges.

The three changes--guaranteeing Members the right to be represented in front of the Committee by counsel of their choice, ensuring Members' right to due process, and eliminating the possibility that a charge could wind up ``in limbo''--were opposed by House Democrats in a blatantly political attempt to use the ethics process for electoral gain.

Despite the questionable motives behind Democrat opposition to the rules changes, House Republicans worked to come to an agreement with the Minority in order to get the Ethics Committee up and running.

Unfortunately--but not surprisingly--each attempt by either the Republican Leadership or Chairman Hastings was rejected.

Chairman Hastings offered on numerous occasions to meet with Ranking Member Mollohan in order to craft a compromise, but was rebuffed. When he presented his written and signed guarantee addressing Mr. Mollohan's concerns, Minority Leader Pelosi called his good-faith effort ``a sham'' (Weekly Media Availability, April 21, 2005).

Just one week prior to Leader Pelosi's statement, Ranking Member Mollohan said: ``We would proceed by our rules, not any other way'' (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 14, 2005).

The Democrat intransigence clearly indicates their intention to use the ethics process as a tool in their political arsenal. Their
cynical attempt to corrupt the process by injecting political rancor is odious, and will be seen for what it truly is--partisan hackery in the guise of ``good government.''

But rather than let the Democrat ``my way or the highway'' strategy drag on, House Republicans have elected to take the high road.

By returning to the Rules of the 108th Congress, the House will once again have an operational Ethics Committee which, while flawed, will at least be able to begin functioning.

Unlike the obstructionist Democrats who would rather bluster about supposed abuses of power by the Majority than actually come to an agreement on ethics, House Republicans are committed to moving forward and protecting the integrity of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that today marks a real return to an honest, bipartisan ethics process and not just an attempt to change the subject.

I hope that members of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct will continue to work in a bipartisan way and that the leadership of the House will let them do that work, without pressure or intimidation.

I hope the committee will continue the tradition of nonpartisan, professional staff members.

Only time will tell. In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, I take comfort in the knowledge that the American people are watching very, very closely.

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