Apr 6, 2005 -- Press Release: Ethics Coalition on DeLay Activities

Congressional Ethics Coalition
Campaign Legal Center * Center for Responsive Politics

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Common Cause * Democracy 21 * Judicial Watch

Public Campaign Research Fund

Public Citizen * Public Interest Research Group

Below is the statement of the Congressional Ethics Coalition on press reports about questionable activities by Majority Leader Tom DeLay. The Coalition is a nonpartisan, ideologically diverse group of nine watchdog organizations working for reasonable reform of the congressional ethics oversight system.

News reports today detailing questionable activities by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) underline the urgent need for House leaders to accept their responsibility to get a functioning ethics review process in place.

The panel is now completely unable to conduct business because Democrats on the panel have rightly rejected a set of rules changes, forced through by House Republican leaders and designed to undermine the Committee. Among other changes, the new rules require a majority vote of the evenly-divided Committee to begin even a preliminary probe into possible ethical misconduct - a surefire prescription for ending real ethics investigations.

As a result of these partisan rules changes, a long list of serious ethics matters - involving both Democratic and Republican members - is languishing at the dormant Committee. In addition, the panel is unable to do even its most straightforward work, including answering members' day-to-day ethics questions.

The Ethics Committee's ranking Democrat, Alan Mollohan (D-WV), has introduced legislation to roll back these destructive rule changes. We urge the House Republican leadership to allow a vote on that legislation. And if they do not, we urge the members to use all the tools at their disposal, including the discharge petition, to get a public vote on the measure. Members have a responsibility to declare their support for, or opposition to, an Ethics Committee worthy of the name.

(The Center for Responsive Politics does not endorse legislation, and therefore abstains from this letter.)

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