[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H1902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ETHICS ISSUES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS 
                          OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT

  (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, the ethics of this House, the people's 
House, and this leadership have been questioned.
  Madam Speaker, the leadership of the majority is being investigated 
by no more than 15 newspaper investigative reporters. And while all 
this happens, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, our 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, stands silent, locked 
tighter than a drum, deadlocked. This time, the majority cannot blame 
anyone but themselves. They cannot blame the Democratic Party.
  The majority threw out the rules and House ethics. They removed the 
former Chair because of his independence and changed the rules to make 
delay and denial easier and facts harder to find.
  The ethics issues that are being investigated need to be addressed, 
and where they should be addressed is in the House Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct.
  The Republicans need to break this logjam and make the Committee on 
Standards of Official Conduct the most respected committee in the 
Congress, instead of the partisan political tool that it has become.

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