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Mech
Joined: 06 Jun 2001
Posts: 8237
Location: THE 4th REICH USA |
FED GOV SEEKS TO QUASH ETHICS RULES
 Wed Jan 05, 2005 3:52 am
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House Rule Change Makes Ethics Probes Harder
Reuters
By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after backing off a rules change that would have allowed an indicted congressional leader to retain his post, the House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a separate change that will make it harder to pursue ethics probes of members of Congress.
The vote on the rules package was 220-195 along party lines. The Republicans who control the House said the changes are needed to make the ethics system work better while the Democratic minority said it would "gut" the House's main means of policing its members.
Five members of each party serve on the House ethics panel and under the current system, a tie vote would launch an ethics probe. Under the new rule, a tie or failure to make a decision within 45 days would mean no action would be taken.
A partnership of watchdog groups calling itself the Congressional Ethics Coalition said the changes "would sharply increase the incentive for partisan, deadlock votes on the committee, and would go a long way toward guaranteeing that most ethics complaints would be dead on arrival."
The came shortly after House Republicans dropped a rule they had endorsed just a few weeks ago that would have allowed Majority Leader Tom DeLay to retain his leadership position even if he is indicted in his home state of Texas.
Three DeLay associates have already been indicted in an improper fund-raising case but DeLay has characterized the investigation as politically motivated and has said he does not anticipate being charged.
While Democrats gave grudging praise to Republicans for backing off that policy and abandoning some other ethics proposals, they sharply attacked the new rule about tie votes.
"The Republicans have given themselves veto power over any complaint they do not deem palatable," said New York Democrat Louise Slaughter. "It will reduce this (ethics) committee to a paper tiger.
Ethics committee chairman Joel Hefley, a Colorado Republican whose future tenure in the chairmanship will be decided by House Speaker Dennis Hastert in the next few days, had initially publicly opposed the changes. But he voted for them after Republicans scaled them back on Monday.
Hefley said he would work to modify changes, which he still found objectionable. He said the House was not gutting the system. "We're tweaking it - and we're tweaking some of it in a way I wish we weren't."
But he added, "I think we have a package now that we can live with."
Rules Committee chairman David Dreier, a California Republican, said the change "is designed to protect this institution and its members." |
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increase 1776
Joined: 07 Oct 2000
Posts: 3097
Location: Bizzaro World |
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Wed Jan 05, 2005 5:08 am
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" Congressional Ethics". They don't have any. With the new Patriot Act those are now illegal . Life time probation for anyone showing any form of ethics.
_________________
"The police are not here to create disorder.
The police are here to preserve disorder." Mayor Richard Daley |
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stallion4
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
Posts: 421
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Wed Jan 05, 2005 6:11 am
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increase 1776 wrote:
quote:
" Congressional Ethics". They don't have any. With the new Patriot Act those are now illegal . Life time probation for anyone showing any form of ethics.
Well said! And the ones that voted yes to the Intelligence Overhaul Bill (Patriot Act II) should hang for treason and I don't mean that figuratively. Speaking of the Patriot Act:
From the Assoiciated Press
Man Charged Under Patriot Act for Laser
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=384186
_________________
"You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows" |
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increase 1776
Joined: 07 Oct 2000
Posts: 3097
Location: Bizzaro World |
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Wed Jan 05, 2005 7:09 am
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We should be having a gallows set up in Washington D.C. instead of throwing a victory dance for the braindead Dubya. We would need many gallows with all the politicians and their henchmen.Dubya' Mr.Ethics' himself. Now there is a roll model for your children.Is Bechtel in charge of Tsunami cleanup.No bid contract of course.
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"The police are not here to create disorder.
The police are here to preserve disorder." Mayor Richard Daley |
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