{"id":18523,"date":"2017-01-03T04:52:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T04:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=18523"},"modified":"2017-01-03T04:52:02","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T04:52:02","slug":"house-republicans-vote-to-rein-in-independent-ethics-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/house-republicans-vote-to-rein-in-independent-ethics-office.html","title":{"rendered":"House Republicans vote to rein in independent ethics office"},"content":{"rendered":"
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House Republicans vote to rein in independent ethics office<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

House Republicans vote to rein in independent ethics office:-<\/strong> Defying the wishes of their top leaders, House Republicans voted behind closed doors Monday night to rein in the independent ethics office created eight years ago in the wake of a series of embarrassing congressional scandals.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 119-to-74 vote during a GOP conference meeting means that the House rules package expected to be adopted Tuesday, the first day of the 115th Congress, would rename the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) as the Office of Congressional Complaint Review and place it under the oversight of the House Ethics Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the proposed new rules, the office could not employ a spokesperson, investigate anonymous tips or refer criminal wrongdoing to prosecutors without the express consent of the Ethics Committee, which would gain the power to summarily end any OCE probe.<\/span><\/p>\n

The OCE was created in 2008 to address concerns that the Ethics Committee had been too timid in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing by House members. Under the current House ethics regime, the OCE is empowered to release a public report of its findings even if the Ethics Committee chooses not to take further action against a member.<\/span><\/p>\n

The move to place the OCE under the Ethics Committee\u2019s aegis stands to please many lawmakers who have been wary of having their dirty laundry aired by the independent entity, but some Republicans feared that rolling back a high-profile ethical reform would send a negative message as the GOP assumes unified control in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to \u201cdrain the swamp\u201d and has proposed a series of his own ethics reforms.<\/span><\/p>\n

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opposed the amendment to the House rules package, speaking out against it in the Monday evening conference meeting, according to two people in the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the measure\u2019s sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), said in a statement that it \u201cbuilds upon and strengthens\u201d the current arrangement and that it improves the due process rights for the House members under investigation and witnesses interviewed in the course of OCE probes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe OCE has a serious and important role in the House, and this amendment does nothing to impede their work,\u201d Goodlatte said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Goodlatte\u2019s amendment to the House rules \u201cprovides protections against any disclosures to the public or other government entities,\u201d according to a summary provided by his office, and also mandates that the Ethics Committee \u2014 not the OCE itself \u2014 make any referral of a potential criminal violation to law enforcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFeedback from Members and staff having gone through review by the OCE has been that those under investigation need increased protection of their due process rights, greater access to basic evidentiary standards, and a process that does not discriminate against them for invoking those rights,\u201d the summary said. \u201cThe amendment seeks to strengthen each of these needs while maintaining the basic core of OCE\u2019s functions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The measure also prohibits limits the OCE\u2019s jurisdiction to the previous three Congresses, aligning its statute of limitations to the Ethics Committee\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

An OCE spokeswoman declined to comment Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethics watchdog groups warned that the amendment could undermine public confidence in Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThreatening its independence is a disservice to the American people who need a nonpartisan body to investigate the ethical failures of their representatives,\u201d said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, a watchdog organization. \u201cThe fact that they do not want an Office with \u2018Congressional Ethics\u2019 in the name is a pretty good metaphor for how ethics scandals will be dealt with if this rule passes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats, then in the House majority, established the OCE in 2008 in the aftermath of the lobbying scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff to conduct ethics investigations free from political influence. But in recent years, some members of Congress have sought to limit the office and its work.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the start of the last Congress, Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) pushed for a rule change to stress that people being investigated by the OCE could not be denied their constitutional rights and had a right to counsel. According to media reports, Pearce raised the objection because he felt a staffer in his office had been treated unfairly.<\/span><\/p>\n

The OCE\u2019s rules permit people under investigation to work through a lawyer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last summer, Pearce repeated such complaints during comments on the House floor, when he proposed an amendment to limit the OCE\u2019s funding, arguing that it was justified by government-wide budget restrictions and the need \u201cto give notice to the OCE that we\u2019re watching what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The pushback hasn\u2019t come only from Republicans. In 2011, Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) \u2014 who had been subject to an OCE investigation \u2014 drafted an amendment to slash funding from the OCE by 40 percent, calling the office \u201credundant and duplicative\u201d of the House Ethics Committee. That amendment was rejected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrats pounced Monday on the Republicans\u2019 move. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that the GOP \u201chas acted to weaken ethics and silence would-be whistleblowers\u201d and that the proposed arrangement \u201cwould functionally destroy\u201d the OCE.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans claim they want to drain the swamp, but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions,\u201d Pelosi said. \u201cEvidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The House Ethics Committee is composed of sitting members of Congress, while the Office of Congressional Ethics is run by a six-member board with two alternates. One alternate position is vacant.<\/span><\/p>\n

It does not have subpoena power, but its reports and investigations are often a first vetting in situations where members are alleged to have violated the rules of congressional conduct. Several of the cases reviewed by the OCE have been referred to the House Ethics Committee for further proceedings.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Senate, there is no equivalent of the Office of Congressional Ethics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/powerpost\/wp\/2017\/01\/02\/house-republicans-vote-to-rein-in-independent-ethics-office\/?utm_term=.de8661c8fe25<\/span><\/div>\n

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