Pelosi Letter to Boehner on Ethics

Washington, D.C. -Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter on Friday to House Republican Leader John Boehner on ethics reform. The Speaker indicates her willingness to consider changes proposed by the Republicans and invites Leader Boehner to meet with her to discuss ways to improve the operation of the House ethics process.

'As I indicated during our discussion, I am pleased to consider additional changes to the ethics process beyond those contained in the plan developed by the bipartisan committee, which we plan to bring to the floor soon.'Below is the text of the letter:

February 29, 2008

The Honorable John A. Boehner

Republican Leader

United States House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Mr. Leader:

Thank you very much for the suggestions you offered during our recent discussion for making the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct more transparent and accountable.  I look forward to continuing to work towards this goal with you on a bipartisan basis.

Yesterday afternoon, as the House was preparing to consider the ethics reforms developed by the bipartisan Capuano-Smith committee, Mr. Smith unveiled an entirely new plan whose provisions were never considered in the bipartisan process.  Some of the efforts at transparency contained in the new Smith proposal are similar to those you mentioned in our earlier conversation.  Others go far beyond anything discussed, either by us or by the Capuano-Smith committee during its months of deliberations.

As I indicated during our discussion, I am pleased to consider additional changes to the ethics process beyond those contained in the plan developed by the bipartisan committee, which we plan to bring to the floor soon. To provide the Smith plan with the scrutiny it merits, I would propose that the Capuano-Smith committee consider its provisions and report to us, as they did with the current proposal for an outside entity.

In addition, I would hope that we could soon schedule a meeting between us and Chairwoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones and Ranking Member Doc Hastings of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as a constructive step towards identifying ways of expanding the transparency and accountability of the ethics process.

I look forward to discussing with you, at your earliest opportunity, these additional efforts to improve the operation of the House ethics process.

best wishes,

NANCY  PELOSI

Speaker of the House