Boehner: Democratic Leaders Violated Own Ethics Rules in Order to Pass “Ethics Reform”
Washington,
Mar 11, 2008 -
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) expressed disappointment tonight that House Democratic leaders would violate the ethics rules they put in place at the beginning of the 110th Congress in order to pass a flawed “ethics” proposal that does nothing but add a new layer of bureaucracy that will only make it easier for Congress to sweep ethical problems under the rug. The measure passed by a vote of 207-206 after Democratic leaders held the vote open for additional time beyond what House rules state is permissible in order to influence Democrats to change their votes in favor.
House Rule XX, clause 2(a) in part states “A record vote by electronic device shall not be held open for the sole purpose of reversing the outcome of such vote.” The rule was implemented by Democratic leaders at the beginning of the 110th Congress. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) campaigned on the rules change, including it in her 2006 campaign document “A New Direction For America” on page 24, which states that “Floor votes should be completed within 15 minutes. No vote shall be held open to manipulate the outcome.”
Boehner issued the following statement:
“Democratic leaders campaigned on ‘ethics reform’ yet tonight they violated their own ethics rules for partisan, political gain. Sadly, this is just the latest in a long line of abuses that include a stolen vote last August in order to give illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded benefits.
“Rebuilding the bonds of trust between Congress and the American people should be our highest priority, but tonight this Congress took another step to break the public trust. The American people have every right to expect the highest ethical standards from their elected leaders. Unfortunately, neither the actions of the Majority tonight, nor the ‘ethics’ scheme we were asked to vote on, does anything to restore the confidence of the American people in this Congress.”
NOTE: GOP leaders, led by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), proposed an alternative designed to strengthen the Ethics Committee, improve the transparency of the ethics process, and turn gridlocked cases over to federal law enforcement authorities directly. Democratic leaders refused to allow a vote on the alternative.
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