[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H2555-H2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ETHICS CRISIS IN THE HOUSE

  (Mr. CARNAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House

[[Page H2556]]

for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, the ethics process in this House is 
broken. I believe the first duty of all House Members is to set and 
follow the highest ethical standards, not just toe the party line for 
either party.
  The complete breakdown of the long-established bipartisan ethics 
process is a direct result of steps taken by this current majority. 
This includes actions taken by House Republicans to cripple the ethics 
enforcement process and to even purge fellow Republicans from the 
committee and staff for merely following what used to be fair and time-
honored rules in this last Congress.
  Madam Speaker, there is an ethics crisis in the House that will only 
get worse unless immediate action is taken. It is time for Republicans 
and Democrats to move quickly to fix the untenable and unprecedented 
situation that now exists. As a first step, this House must take up 
H.R. 131, a measure that will repeal the misguided House rules adopted 
at the beginning of this Congress that have led to a complete shutdown 
of the bipartisan ethics process in the House.
  This House of the American people demands nothing less than strong 
bipartisan ethics rules.

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