Republicans said it made no sense to study their proposal separately from Capuano’s proposal, because they view them as mutually exclusive. That indicates Republicans will continue to push for their alternative when Democrats bring their plan up for a vote.
“They are trying to split a baby that can’t be split,” said a GOP aide.
But, given the lack of support in her own caucus, Pelosi has bigger problems than opposition from Republicans.
Aides say there was growing dissatisfaction among members on the various ethics rules that have passed since Democrats took power. Members felt they were surprised by some elements of the rules, such as term limits for chairmen. They feel pressed by new requirements on earmarks, and they weren’t prepared to go along with a new ethics plan that allows for frivolous political charges to be made.
Others speculated that Pelosi went forward with a vote because the anniversary of her call for an independent entity is looming, or that Capuano, who has not been shy about publicly stating how eager he is for his task to be completed, wanted a resolution.
Pelosi went forward, a Democratic aide said, because she felt it was time to settle the issue.
“The Speaker felt strongly that this was the product of long negotiations that took a year and were bipartisan,” the aide said. “She felt this is critical to her commitment to increasing openness and transparency in Congress.”
Calling the process “bipartisan” irritates Republicans because the Republicans on the task force refused to join Capuano in his recommendations.
On Monday, Capuano sought to assuage concerns on both sides of the aisle by signing off on several changes to the proposal. He circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter touting several amendments to the proposal for an independent ethics body that he said would make it “impossible to initiate a partisan witch-hunt.” The amendments will be offered during the Rules Committee meeting planned for Wednesday.
Capuano noted that the two watchdog groups that supported his previous proposal, Common Cause and U.S. PIRG, are backing the changes, as are longtime congressional observers Norm Ornstein at the American Enterprise Institute and Thomas Mann at the Brookings Institution.
Common Cause and U.S. PIRG are expected to urge House members to support the stalled proposal Tuesday in a press call with Capuano.
Several other prominent watchdogs, such as the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, have openly lobbied against the original proposal, arguing that it was too weak.
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