[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H1901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ARROGANT MAJORITY DISMANTLES ETHICS PROCESS

  (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, a dark cloud and a suspicion of 
corruption hangs over this House of Representatives. It is the talk of 
the Nation. With no Committee on Standards of Official Conduct or 
reasonable ethical standards to speak of, there is no hope that the 
dark cloud will recede and that daylight will be let in.
  By systematically dismantling the House ethics process, the majority 
has denied this House the right to investigate its own Members and thus 
betrayed our core American values. Honesty, integrity, and 
accountability, the values, which should be the hallmark of this 
government, have instead been thrown under the bus by an arrogant 
majority, casualties in a misguided campaign to shield from 
accountability those who abuse this House.
  This House cannot function without an open, accountable, and 
independent ethics process; and the molestation of that process by the 
majority is an abuse of power that cannot stand.
  It is for these reasons I have repeatedly asked the Chair of the 
Committee on Rules to hold a bipartisan ethics hearing. As guardians of 
the democratic process, our Committee on Rules has the unique 
responsibility to protect the integrity of this hallowed institution.
  What are we waiting for? This dark cloud must be lifted, the air must 
be cleansed, and the ethics rules must be fully restored, because the 
very credibility of the government and its ability to lead the American 
people hang in the balance.

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