No joke: Walz asks staff to be thrifty (and ethics committee to do its job)

In a Wall Street Journal article,  Lawmakers Have Long Rewarded Their Aides With Bonuses, we read:

Each House office receives between $1.3 million and $1.9 million annually in government funds to pay for office expenses, including salaries. In 2008, some lawmakers returned excess cash to the government, including Rep. Todd Akin, a Missouri Republican (who also gave some bonuses) and Rep. Tim Walz, a Minnesota Democrat. Meredith Salsbery, a spokeswoman for Mr. Walz, said aides are asked to be "thrifty and conscious of taxpayer dollars" and that Mr. Walz "knows the power of setting a good example."

As we first reported back in December, Walz has returned his own raises for 2008 and 2009 to the Treasury. In January, he was also an original co-sponsor of a bill to block automatic congressional pay raises in 2010.

In PMA scandal dogs Pelosi, The Hill notes:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is under increasing pressure from conservative Democrats to provide political cover from GOP calls for an investigation into PMA Group, a now-defunct defense lobby under firm scrutiny for questionable campaign donations and earmarks.

Members of the conservative Blue Dog and centrist New Democrat coalitions are calling on Pelosi to fulfill her promise to set a new standard for congressional ethics by either shaking the ethics committee into action on the PMA controversy or providing an alternative resolution to the one offered repeatedly by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).  . . .
 
. . .Several newer members of Congress were motivated to run in part to help restore credibility to the House after the high-profile GOP corruption cases involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.). To them, voting against tabling Flake’s resolution is a way to preserve their Democratic majority by raising ethical standards, rather than a slap in the face of their Democratic leaders.

“I came to Congress in 2006 — it was the first elected office I had and I came with a very public approach,” said Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.). “The ethics committee has gotten a reputation that it doesn’t do anything, that people don’t trust it. This is a way to restore integrity to the process.”

Walz also reported a growing frustration about the PMA matter among members who were elected in 2006 and 2008.

“People feel it from the public — that there is an eroding trust in this institution and a frustration with business as usual,” he said. “I think at some point [Democrats] are going to have to deal with PMA.”

As we have observed in the past, Congressman Walz is not a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. Nor is he among the ranks of the New Democrats.  Bluestem first posted about Walz's break with the majority caucus over the PMA investigation on March 7.

The House vote on tabling the latest rsolution was 210-173. Walz's no vote indicates that wants the resolution to go forward.