Cross posted from The Hill.

Believe it or not, leadership of both parties was able to find people willing to sit on the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Although we would have preferred that fewer than half the nominees be former members, this is another step toward finally having an independent body involved in investigating ethics complaints in the House. Hopefully, the appointees can make the OCE into an effective investigative body free from partisanship.


Ethics complaints in Congress were at one time used as political weapons. Then we had the ethics truce. The idea behind the OCE is that it will finally allow ethics complaints to be taken seriously by individuals who aren't in some way connected with the accused. At the time of its passage, Common Cause noted that the success of the new office depended entirely on the appointment of individuals who would aspire to being as non-partisan and objective as possible. Hopefully, these distinguished nominees will fulfill that goal in their service on the OCE.


Unfortunately, the Senate chose not to create a similar body in that chamber, even though the Senate Ethics Committee has hardly been any better at investigating possible misconduct of its members. As we have said before, unethical behavior does not have to rise to the level of illegal behavior. Nevertheless, Senator Ted Stevens has been indicted on seven criminal counts of possible corruption in a case that has been in the news for some time. Yet, the Senate Ethics Committee hasn't weighed in on any of that. Hopefully the OCE will be a more proactive than the Ethics Committees in the House and Senate have been so that it doesn't take a criminal indictment to get its attention.

It must be a little strange for Alaskans these days.  Their great state, widely known for it's beautiful scenery, fishing industry, and oil, is in danger of becoming known for an altogether less appealing reason - corrupt politicians.

Consider the following:

• Sen. Ted Stevens (R) is under federal investigation for a couple different situations, including allegations of accepting bribes from an energy company.
  
• Rep. Don Young (R) has been drawn into the same investigation.  His long ties with uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff have also earned him unwanted attention.
  
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) recently came under fire for her purchase of a vacant lot from a campaign supporter for well below market value.

For those of you keeping score, these three comprise the entire Alaskan Congressional delegation.  Throw in a bunch of state legislators busted for corruption recently, and it all makes for a rather embarassing situation.

BREAKING NEWS: The U.S. Senate voted this afternoon, 83-14, to send the lobbying and ethics reform bill to the White House for President Bush's signature.

The vote, which technically gives Senate approval to changes the House made in the bill on Tuesday, July 31, came a couple of hours after the Senate voted, 80-17, to end debate on the bill.

Some interesting notes from today's vote: Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK, who faces a federal corruption investigation and had vowed to kill the bill after an IRS-FBI raid on his house Monday, voted for its passage. Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, a longtime reform champion and supporter of the ethics and lobbying reform bill, voted against passage.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, also known as S. 1, or the ethics and lobbying reform bill, is not everything we had hoped it to be. And it's nowhere near what we'd like it to be despite its lofty title and low number.

That's all right.

If the Senate gives its approval to S. 1 this week, as it's expected to do, Congress will finally have produced tighter ethics and lobbying rules after being dragged through the mud of the Abramoff, Foley, Ney and Cunningham scandals of years past. And we'll soon be reminded of why we went to this trouble, when Rep. William Jefferson, D-LA, goes to trial.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to The Ted Stevens Show.  In the wake of the FBI and IRS raid on Sen. Stevens' Alaska home, news and details keep coming in from all angles.  I've gathered some of the more noteworthy items here for your convenience.

• Sen. Stevens' bookkeeper has testified under subpoena before the grand jury investigating him.
  
• Federal agents searching the Senator's home appeared to have a special interest in his wine.
  
• It may not just be the house renovations and VECO ties the feds are looking at - they're closely examining a Stevens earmark that benefited a friend.
  
• You know that ethics bill the House passed yesterday? Well, unbelievable as it may sound, Sen. Stevens is threatening to block it.
  
• Watchdog groups have asked Stevens to step down from his committee positions.
  
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has come to Stevens' defense.

And just to round things up, here's an AP timeline detailing some of the events associated with the scandal and investigation.

I'm sure there will be much more forthcoming, so stay tuned for the next episode of The Ted Stevens Show!

Yesterday the home of Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) was raided by FBI and IRS agents in connection with their public corruption investigation that has rocked the Alaskan political establishment.

Senator Stevens is continuing to hold his comments until, he says, "after the investigation."  That will probably be a good long while, and given the way this case has been developing so far, there are no guarantees that the investigation won't end in criminal charges.  Reps. Doolittle (R-CA) and Renzi (R-AZ) welcome you to the club, Senator!

It's good to be a friend of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).  Just ask his busines partners, Leonard Hyde and Jonathan Rubini.

This land deal is just one of several lucrative federal contracts Hyde and Rubini benefited from while Stevens, a major investor, served as the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  According to Roll Call, these investments turned Stevens into a millionaire, where he once had been at the bottom of Senate wealth rankings.

Most of the Senate Appropriations Committee members distanced themselves from or severed ties with people and firms that might benefit from federal contracts once they took their seats.  Not Stevens, though!

The sad thing, however, is that by weak Senate ethics rules, Senator Stevens was allowed to work on this deal using his official capacity; why not recuse himself for having a conflict of interest, instead?  But then again, why pretend like he has an interest in transparency and accountability?

Sen. Stevens may not have done anything illegal, but this is just one more reason why Congress must implement stricter ethics rules and standards - now.

Something fishy is going on in Alaska, and no, it has nothing to do with the state's wild salmon supply.

Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the current longest-serving Republican Senator, has recently been under fire due to allegations regarding the reconstruction of his Alaskan home.  In 2000, the Senator doubled the size of his Girdwood home with the assistance of a contractor from the VECO Corporation, who was hired by the company's top executive. VECO, an oil-field and construction corporation located in Anchorage, has been a significant recipient of Steven's earmarks, no doubt due to its strong lobbying presence in oil-rich Alaska. Now comes the news that Senator Stevens paid only a minimal construction bill for the work done on his property, far off from the actual value of the job.