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Pelosi stands by idea of independent ethics entity |
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By Susan Crabtree
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Posted: 02/28/08 06:43 PM [ET] |
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After a day of turmoil over an overhaul of the House ethics process, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the lawmaker charged with spearheading the reforms are standing by their desire to have an independent ethics office – at least for now.
In an interview Thursday afternoon, Rep. Mike Capuano (D-Mass.), who chaired a bipartisan ethics task force, said he and Pelosi had met twice, not counting several floor conversations, over the past 24 hours and are still working out changes to a proposal for the creation of an ethics office made up of non-lawmakers.
Despite growing criticism on both sides of the aisle over the necessity of another layer of ethics scrutiny, Capuano said he and Pelosi still believe an independent entity is needed to reform the process. He also acknowledged that the two were open to other changes to the proposal.
“[Pelosi’s] pretty clear on how she feels about an independent entity,” he said. “I think there should be one and the Speaker thinks there should be one, and people who don’t need to vote their conscience.”
He cautioned that negotiations were still underway and nothing had been decided as of late Thursday afternoon.
The proposed Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) would weigh ethics allegations against lawmakers and decide whether to forward them on to the full ethics committee.
The proposal sank under heavy criticism by Democrats and Republicans, including members of the usually leadership-driven Rules Committee, forcing Pelosi to cancel a vote on the measure scheduled for Thursday.
Members were particularly upset over a provision that would allow two members of the office’s six-member board to recommend action by the ethics committee – even if the two were from the same party. Republicans and many Democrats fear that allowance would lead to political witch-hunts and a return to the open ethics warfare of the past. Pelosi has since said she would like to alter that language to require that those two members be from different parties.
Capuano said he understood that members sometimes express criticism right before a vote because they haven’t focused on the issue until then.
“The legislative process can be frustrating for all of us,” he said. “Once in a while, on occasion, you’ve go to drop back and regroup and that’s what we’re doing.” |
