OPINION | House Republicans Shouldn’t Undermine Congressional Ethics Office

The Republican proposal would block the office from hiring new staff after a month, impose retroactive term limits on the eight-member board, and dismiss three of the four Democrats.

Nearly 9 in 10 Republicans in the House have been elected since 2010, so a brief history lesson is necessary. From the Jack Abramov and Bob Ney scandals to those surrounding Randy “Duke” Cunningham, William J. Jefferson and Mark Foley. The Ethics Committee, made up of incumbent House members and split evenly between Republicans and Democrats regardless of who is in control, is too concerned with pursuing allegations of misconduct by fellow members of Congress. It was cowardly. The idea was to create a separate office for non-members who had no conflicts of interest and acted as a screening mechanism to sift out allegations that might otherwise be swept under the threshold, allowing more It was to introduce people who deserved scrutiny to the Ethics Committee.

Since its inception, the OCE has actually referred more Democrats (52) than Republicans (50) to its Ethics Committee for further investigation. Lawmakers from both parties exposed wrongdoing for OCE that might otherwise never have come to light. In 2015, the office secretly announced that Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company paid for all expenses for a trip to the Caspian Sea junket for 10 lawmakers (6 Democrats, 4 Republicans). He revealed that he funded the back, where he received gifts of silk scarves, crystal tea sets…and rugs. OCE is the only House body to actively investigate potential insider trading by members and their spouses.

The current system makes it harder for politicians to cover each other than it used to be. OCE has no subpoena power or ability to punish members. However, the Ethics Committee must ultimately release referrals received from OCE, even if they choose not to follow up. This acts as a deterrent to questionable behavior by members, even if they have close friends on the committee.

Jennifer Rubin: Republicans want to shut down the House Ethics Office. they will regret it.

It’s no surprise that legislators don’t want independent scrutiny. Those forced to answer uncomfortable questions about their actions compare ethics offices to star chambers, inexplicable institutions with little transparency. It is clear that members and staff retain due process, legal representation, and all other constitutional rights. This includes Fifth Amendment privileges for self-incrimination. With these protections in place, you don’t even need to break your office.

This isn’t the first time legislators have tried to criticize an independent ethics watchdog. In January 2017, House Republicans held a closed-door vote, stripping the office of its independence and placing it under the Ethics Committee, but the next day, then-President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce the idea. After denouncing it, it changed its policy. That was in contrast to his campaign promise to “drain the swamp.” In particular, Mr. McCarthy voted against weakening OCE at the time.

If ever there was a need for an independent ethics oversight body, it was George Santos (RN.

Not all proposed rule packages are bad. It directs Mr. McCarthy to establish a bipartisan task force to conduct a comprehensive review of the Code of Ethics and submit a report. If a member is charged with a crime, the Ethics Committee must convene an investigative subcommittee within 30 days of her to consider the allegation or submit a report explaining why it did not. The Commission has also been instructed to begin accepting direct complaints from the public.

In a perfect world, Congress would codify the powers of the OCE into law rather than relying on House rules to be rewritten every two years. Ideally, investigators get subpoena powers. And the Senate, which does not have its own independent ethics body, will create a similar one.

Dismantling the independent ethics oversight body, as the first official action of the 118th Congress, is clearly not what Americans wanted when they voted in the midterm elections. Limiting the ability to hire staff, in particular, fears ushering in a new era of corruption. , protecting OCE would be one way to demonstrate that.