House Directs Ethics Committee to Act on All Criminal Charges

June 5, 2007

The House has passed HR 451, introduced by Democrats, which calls on the ethics committee to either empanel an investigative subcommittee or report to the House describing its reasons for not doing so within 30 days any time a Member of the House is indicted or otherwise formally charged with criminal conduct. The resolution passed, 387-10.

Read the full text of the resolution >>

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer spoke in favor of the resolution on the floor, and addressed Republican objections that the bill would create problems for Representatives whom had simply garnered a traffic ticket or had been arrested in protest for a worthy cause:

Leader Hoyer:

"I said earlier in the course of this debate that I have full confidence that the Ethics Committee will dismiss summarily, summarily, the examples that the gentleman from California raises. That is not what the American public is concerned about... when Mr. Abramoff takes trips of a lot of people to Scotland for free, the American people know that that's not a traffic ticket."

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20) also spoke in favor of the resolution:

Rep. Gillibrand:

"I think a mandatory 30-day return time makes an extraordinary amount of sense. As a member of the freshman class who cares a lot about ethics and accountability, we also hope to eventually have an independent ethics counsel which will also provide recommendations to the House Ethics Committee. I think this is a first step in a progress of making sure that the American people can begin to have faith and confidence in its government and its elected leaders."