Amending the Rules of the House of Represenatives to Reinstate Certian Provisions of the Rules Relating to Procedures of the Committee on Standards of

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)

Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding me this time. I rise in support of this resolution to restore the integrity to our ethics process and reinstate the standards of previous Congresses, standards which regrettably this Chamber chose to erode earlier this year. That action marked the first time in the history of the House of Representatives that our ethics rules were altered on a partisan basis.

Our constituents deserve a Congress that holds itself to the highest of standards. Many generations of our predecessors acknowledged the importance of this by having the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct be evenly divided between the parties, regardless of any electoral outcome, by working together in a bipartisan fashion, and by ensuring that neither party would be allowed to use partisanship and power as a shield against behavior that falls short of the standards our constituents expect and deserve.

With this action earlier this year, this Congress fell short of this standard. The ethics process must operate on a bipartisan basis to ensure that it functions in an evenhanded and just fashion, and it must be prepared to act without regard to party in order for the people of this country to have any faith in it. Simply put, this Chamber's ethics and the standards to which we hold ourselves must be put to a higher plane than any one political party.

We should never have reached this point, but with today's long overdue action, my hope is that the House of Representatives will correct that error.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my distinguished colleague, the ranking member of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan), for his determined and tenacious leadership on this matter. If it were not for his leadership and the leadership of others, it would have been all too easy for this to be ignored and the American people would not be seeing this victory. Had we not altered course, we could have done irreparable long-term damage to the institution that we all love. Instead, thanks to their efforts, we take much-needed corrective action.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this much-needed resolution.

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