Senior Democrats are taking shots at the House's new ethics watchdog, which has come back to bite some caucus members a year after Democratic leaders created it.Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) acknowledged a growing number of concerns about the Office of Congressional Ethics's (OCE) record and predicted a coming public clash over its activities. "A lot of people have been raising concerns [about the OCE], and I support them," Clyburn said. "At some point in the not-so-distant future, these concerns will have to be addressed."
| Its proponents argue that it is needed to fix a broken, self-policing, members-only ethics committee, which rarely initiated investigations unless compelled to do so by a formal complaint from another member or via intense public scrutiny. |
As a Democratic leader, Clyburn voted in favor of the OCE, but then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) appeared to buttonhole the most members. Resentment over Pelosi's drive to create the extra layer of ethics scrutiny has lingered ever since.
"It was a mistake," Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) said flatly. "Congress has a long and rich history of overreacting to a crisis." Cleaver, a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member who voted against creating the OCE, was referring to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Democrats used the controversy to impugn the GOP for creating a culture of corruption when it controlled Congress and the White House. "The truth of the matter is -- everything Jack Abramoff did was against the law and many people involved in that scandal have gone to jail," Cleaver continued.
Cleaver is most concerned about the ability of the OCE to launch an investigation based on media reports or an anonymous complaint. The ethics committee can initiate investigations from media reports as well, but a member must file a formal public complaint to require the ethics committee to launch a probe.
A significant number of members on both sides of the aisle were wary of handing any power to monitor members' activities over to a group of non-lawmakers, and the OCE's record so far has confirmed their worst fears, they argue.
The OCE is charged with reviewing suspected ethics rules violations and complaints and making recommendations to the full ethics committee for further investigation and action. Its proponents argue that it is needed to fix a broken, self-policing, members-only ethics committee, which rarely initiated investigations unless compelled to do so by a formal complaint from another member or via intense public scrutiny.