Posted by
Defend America on Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:13:10 PM
Lawmakers seek to gut ethics office
By
JONATHAN ALLEN &
JOHN BRESNAHAN |
6/10/10 4:36 AM EDT
The Office of Congressional Ethics, a powerful symbol of Democrats’ promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, is in danger of having its power stripped after the midterm elections.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus
have led the charge, airing complaints about the aggressive,
independent panel in a private session with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
last month, and they’ve drafted a resolution that, if approved, would
severely curtail the panel’s power.
But there’s hot competition between the CBC and the official House ethics committee
over who has less regard for the Office of Congressional Ethics, also
known as the OCE. And the rest of the House doesn’t appear to be far
behind in its disdain. Privately, Democratic and Republican lawmakers,
and even some congressional leaders, acknowledge that there’s a strong
sentiment to change rules that empower the office to publicize
investigations and wreak havoc on lawmakers’ political lives.
“We might have to take a fresh look, at some point, at the authority of
the OCE,” said North Carolina Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield, who is
a member of both the CBC and the ethics committee.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38345.html