Sutton Leads Fight to Pass Historic Ethics Legislation

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 1031 provides for the adoption of H. Res. 895, which establishes an Office of Congressional Ethics in the House of Representatives. I rise in support of this important rule that will allow us to enact one of the most important ethics reforms this House has ever seen. Mr. Speaker, the issue of ethics and accountability has long been on the minds of the people that I represent. During my campaign to become a Member of this esteemed body, everywhere I went, people asked about it. They believed and, Mr. Speaker, they were absolutely right, that the corruption and unfair influence that existed in past Congresses was having an effect on our policies, deflecting us from making progress on issues important to them and families across this great Nation. So last year, Mr. Speaker, on my first day in office representing the people of Ohio's 13th District, I was very proud to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives to support the new ethics and lobbying reforms which have now become law. We ended the K Street Project and cut off the gifts and the perks used far too often by lobbyists to woo lawmakers. The historic rules package we passed was extraordinary in its scope and breadth. But it was only the beginning of actions necessary to restore the public trust and to cut off the abuses of recent years. Mr. Speaker, trust is a fragile thing. It's difficult to win and easy to lose. It finds its hold on promises kept and honesty sustained and unquestionable integrity. Many of us, Mr. Speaker, came to this new Congress as new Members dedicated to acting to change the way business was being conducted. In May of last year, I stood side by side with my freshman Democratic colleagues, some of whom we'll hear from today, calling for the creation of a nonpartisan and independent body that could initiate and examine ethics investigations. And today, we are acting to make this change happen. With this bill, we continue the mission of pushing back against corruption. We are forging ahead to restore trust and confidence in this great institution. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 895 will help end the culture and abuses that have hurt the American people, both in policy and in spirit. This legislation is the culmination of hard work of Representative Capuano and the special task force on ethics enforcement. He deserves our appreciation. Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer also deserve praise for their tireless efforts to move this issue forward, sometimes in contentious times. The independent ethics panel will help cure many of the inherent structural flaws that restrain our present ethics structure by eliminating the conflicts of interest that can be found in our current system. The formation of this office is the next step in our mission to repair the damage to the public trust caused by corruption and to ensure that any potential abuses in the future will be identified and addressed. And it's important to emphasize, Mr. Speaker, that our bill establishes an independent, bipartisan office of congressional ethics. The words ``independent'' and ``bipartisan'' are worth stressing. We may hear today about the desire of some who want to delay action on this important measure, but the American people have waited and waited, and this bill has been a long time in the making. This bill was made necessary by abuses of the past that have robbed the public of their faith and trust in this institution, and this new bill was made possible by the commitment of this new Congress to ensure that we will do what it takes to prevent the excesses and abuses of the past and hold those who violate the rules accountable. Safeguarding the trust of the American people is not a part-time job. The integrity of this institution and the trust of the American people must be paramount. And make no mistake, we take this step not only to restore the public trust, we must take this step to ensure that we will be an institution worthy of that trust. That's why we're acting today. The American people are waiting. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join in support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.