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Contact: Christine McCarty
202-225-4236
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Smith Opposes Democrats’ Ethics Resolution
Washington,
Mar 11, 2008 -
Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) today issued the following statement regarding the Democrats’ ethics resolution that passed the U.S. House of Representatives:
“The Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement was charged with evaluating whether a new ethics board should be created. I regret that a process that began as a bipartisan one has ended up partisan.
“Instead, what should have been an exercise in bipartisanship has turned into brinksmanship, and Democratic leadership has pushed a flawed proposal through the House with no opportunity to amend it or to offer an alternative.
“The fact remains that we would all not be here today if the House’s own Ethics Committee were functioning.
“I regret that the proposal that passed, by its very nature, abandons the task of reforming the House Ethics Committee and would hamper, not improve the current ethics enforcement process.
“Americans today rightfully feel the ethics process does not work. They do not know when ethics investigations are started. They do not know the status of those investigations. And they do not know whether a partisan deadlock has resulted in stalling an investigation forever. Americans need this knowledge, and that can only come through reforms to the Ethics Committee itself that will produce more partisanship and greater transparency.
“But the Democrat proposal does not do that. Instead, it simply adds another layer of bureaucracy on top of an already broken system. It creates an entirely new entity that invites yet more partisanship under undemocratic procedures.
“Under this resolution, investigations can be initiated by only two out of six board members. If one board member nominated by the Speaker and one board member nominated by the Minority Leader agree to initiate an investigation, but upon further review either board member decides the matter should be dismissed, the investigation can still proceed with the support of only those board members nominated by either the Speaker or Minority Leader. This is undemocratic.
“To reassure the American people, we need to reform the Ethics Committee itself and require more bipartisanship and more transparency, two goals I thought all Republicans and Democrats would agree upon.”
** In January House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Rep. Mike Capuano to chair the Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement. Rep. Lamar Smith serves as the Task Force’s Ranking Member. Other members of the bipartisan task force include: Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. David Price (D-NC), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Rep. Dave Hobson (R-OH), and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS). **
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