This just in from Congressman Walz's office:
Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced the passage of legislation to create an independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) within the House of Representatives. Walz, the former president of the Democratic freshmen class, said that the legislation was based on proposals the freshmen Members of Congress had called for to enhance transparency and accountability in Congress.
The new OCE will be comprised of six board members who are not current Members of Congress, lobbyists or federal government employees. Together, two members of the OCE can initiate a review of allegations of
misconduct against a member of the U.S. House. Currently, only a Member of the House of Representatives may file an ethics complaint against another Member of the House or House employee."The fundamental problem in our democracy is not a conflict of political opinion, but the fact that too many Americans have lost faith in their government," said Walz. "I believe that creating an independent Office
of Congressional Ethics in the U.S. House will help restore some accountability and openness to our government."Walz said that the establishment of an independent ethics office was a priority that he and other members of the Democratic Freshmen class had pushed for. "I came to Congress last year because Americans were tired of business as usual in Washington, D.C. and they demanded change," Walz said. "I have been working with my colleagues in the Democratic freshmen class to push for additional ethics reform to restore faith in our democracy and end the culture of corruption that has taken root in Washington, DC. Last night's vote is a big step forward, and I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish."
The resolution lays out the procedures for members of the OCE to initiate investigations into misconduct, as well as the process by which any complaints will be reviewed and referred to the House Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct, frequently known as the Ethics Committee.Because the legislation pertains only to the House, today's passage is sufficient to create the new Office of Congressional Ethics. The resolution, H.Res 895 passed the House last night by a vote of 229-182.
The Mankato Free Press wrote and editorialized about this issue back in
April of 2007:"Walz wants independent Ethics Committee," by Mark Fischenich
Photo courtesy of Joe Lencioni's shifting pixel.
Betty McCollum should credit on this as she was on the panel that reviewed the situation. It must have been a real battle as Lamar Smith (R-TX) was quite vocal that this should not be approved … and he was on the panel with McCollum.
Considering the fraud problems at the RNCC (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8398.html) where John Kline did not provide proper oversight, you would think the Republics would have learned transparency is paramount.
Posted by: MinnesotaCentral | March 12, 2008 at 10:27 AM