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The House will likely vote on a bill imposing a new layer of ethical scrutiny on member activity this Thursday, according to the lawmaker leading the effort.
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), who chairs a bipartisan ethics task force, said Monday that “all indicators” point to a Thursday vote on a bill creating an outside Office of Congressional Ethics. The entity could launch preliminary ethics inquiries and issue recommendations to the House ethics panel, known formally as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. No members may be current lawmakers.
The measure remains controversial in some circles. Freshman Democrats and several prominent watchdog groups argue that it does not provide real investigative power, while some critics on both sides of the aisle say it could lead to a return to the partisan ethics witch hunts of the past. Even though it is expected to pass, Democratic leaders sent out a whip notice on Friday to make sure there are no surprises.
Two watchdog groups who support the bill, U.S. PIRG and Common Cause, sent a letter Monday to all House members urging them to vote for it. The creation of the office, the groups wrote, for the first time would allow for individuals other than members of Congress to initiate formal investigations into allegations of lawmakers’ wrongdoings.
“The structure provides for much needed independence in a process that has been plagued by overt conflicts of interest,” wrote U.S. PIRG’s Gary Kalman and Common Cause’s Sarah Dufendach.
In the letter, the groups also highlight the office’s provisions for public disclosure of what its investigations find.
“This again improves oversight of the ethics rules by eliminating the absolute secrecy surrounding the existing process,” they wrote.
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