The House took a leap into new reform territory for them when it voted to setup an ethics oversight office, ending years of failure at policing itself.
While it may seem obvious that Members of Congress have had problems passing judgement on their colleagues, that's not what some Members were saying during debate on the ethics bill last night. (all quotes from WaPo article linked above) Here's veteran Rep Neil Abercrombie (D-HI):
"Ladies and gentleman, we have a new grand jury in the House," thundered Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). "Any referral to the Office of Congressional Ethics will be tantamount to a guilty verdict. Any other conclusion by the ethics committee will be seen as a cover-up. I guarantee it."
And across the Capitol lawn, the Senate felt compelled to respond quickly and negatively to the House taking this great step forward for reform:
"The Senate voted overwhelmingly to reject proposals to create an outside investigative body because we have confidence in our Ethics process," [Senators Barbara] Boxer and [John] Cornyn said.
Steny Hoyer - also a veteran member - had it right:
"Unless you were sound asleep prior to the last election, unless you were living in another country, another land in another time, you know what the people thought about this, the people's House that we love," said Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, the majority leader.
