Yesterday, Common Cause Maine's Jon Bartholomew stood with US Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME) to talk about the House Democrats new ethics rules being voted on today. It's a good package, but it will ultimately fail without enforcement, as similar rules enacted in 1995 failed. Today, in the WaPo, Sen. Barack Obama writes about the key to ethics reform, an independent commission to make sure Congress follows its own ethics rules. And the NY Times chimes in with its own pitch for independent oversight of congressional ethics. Here's some excerpts:
Senator Obama in the Post:
I have long proposed a nonpartisan, independent ethics commission that would act as the American people's public watchdog over Congress. The commission would be staffed with former judges and former members of Congress from both parties, and it would allow any citizen to report possible ethics violations by lawmakers, staff members or lobbyists. The truth is, we cannot change the way Washington works unless we first change the way Congress works.
And, the NY Times: Paramount is the need to create an independent office for ethics enforcement to end the clubbiness that more often than not covers up or excuses abuses.
You are not logged in.
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account just by filling out the form below. It's quick and free.
