(Washington, DC) - House Democratic Caucus Chair-Elect James E. Clyburn was tapped today by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to Chair her Clean House Task Force. The panel will include Marty Meehan (D-MA), David Obey (D-WI), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and Henry Waxman (D-CA). Clyburn also serves at the Chair of the House Democrats' Faith Working Group. He issued the following statement in response to today's announcement.

"I am honored that Nancy has placed her trust in me to lead this crucial task. The faith of the American people in its elected leaders has been shaken by daily revelations regarding the culture of corruption the Republican leadership has fostered in Washington."

"We are witnessing a breakdown in our Democracy because of the undue influence of money. When money rules, the people are not heard and Democracy does not work. We cannot aspire to greatness when many of our government leaders require a 'pay to play' system for their services. Americans deserve better and together America can do better."

"Members of Congress should consider themselves professionals and any profession that does not police itself will not be trusted by the public. What we currently have on Capitol Hill is a sham. Once Tom Delay was reprimanded by the Ethics Committee, his cronies ousted all the Republicans, including the Chair of the committee, and replaced them with Delay's allies, and since that time the Ethics Committee has never met."

"This action is indicative of the culture that Republicans have fostered in Washington. Their K Street project, whose sole mission is to render 'Democrats impotent' is strong-arming corporations to rid themselves of any Democratic lobbyists or face expulsion from the Hill. As a reward for compliance, corporate leaders are invited into the offices of the Republican leadership and allowed to craft legislation for their benefit. This is not doing the business of the people; this is criminal behavior."

"Democrats have been clamoring for ethics reform for over a year. There is however, a big difference between reform and removal. As Chair of this group, I will not support banning all who are advocates because of the criminal actions of a few corrupt Congressmen and lobbyists. Most of the lobbyists who visit my office do not represent huge corporations and big Washington money. They work for colleges and universities, counties and municipalities and small, community-based organizations from South Carolina's Sixth Congressional District. They don't have multi-million dollar contracts and aren't seeking to circumvent the legislative process. I don't believe that a knee jerk reaction opposing all activity is warranted. We should not penalize legitimate advocates, whose clients rely on federal resources to provide a better quality of life for our constituents back home."

"But the big money being spent by the Washington lobbyists is a different story."

"Democrats believe real lobbying reform is essential to rein in the Washington money and make sure the voices heard in the halls of our Congress are those of real, hardworking Americans. Congress must open the process of legislating so that the actions of Members and lobbyists are clear to the public".

• 1.) "We must restore the integrity of the House. Integrity, basically defined, is when words and deeds do not part."
• 2.) "We must transcend politics as usual in Washington and bring transparency to the process of government".
• 3.) "We must enact legislation to rein in Washington money and fully empower all Americans. The system is simply not working and we must take action now to fix it."

"I welcome a candid discussion with my Republican colleagues to tear down the wall that has been erected between us and begin again to police our profession in a way that will restore the faith of the American people and make our hallowed halls of Congress a source of national pride."

"We are approaching this nation's recognition of the inspirational life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who often served as our country's conscience. Dr. King constantly reminded us of the Constitutional promise of 'a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.' That promise should never be violated by the egregious behavior that we have witnessed in Washington. On Capitol Hill, hardworking Americans have been displaced by the sin of avarice that dictates 'he who has the money has the power."

"America must do better. Working together we can."