Rules Committee Democrats Call For Hearings on House Ethics
Ranking Member, Rep. Louise M. Slaughter Critical of Rampant Conflicts of Interest
Led by Ranking Member, Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY-28), Democratic members of the House Committee on Rules today
called on Republican Chairman David Dreier to hold hearings on House Ethics,
and specifically on H. Res. 131, a bipartisan proposal to restore the ethics complaint
process after it was unilaterally gutted by the Republican leadership at the beginning of the 109th Congress.
"The House Ethics process is broken and its time to
fix it," said Rep. Slaughter. She added "The Rules Committee must
take this issue up and show once and for all that we are committed to the
integrity and honor of this House."
Although H. Res. 131 would typically be referred to the Subcommittee on Rules & the Organization of the House, which is chaired by
Rep. Hastings of Washington, the Democratic Members of the Committee have
requested a full committee hearing instead, given the obvious conflict-of-interest
it would create for Rep. Hastings, whom the Republican leadership recently made
chairman of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics Committee).
Rep. Slaughter, Ranking Member of the Rules Committee,
the committee with jurisdiction over the procedures of the Ethics Committee,
has been a vocal opponent of the Republican leadership’s continued efforts to
destroy the House Ethics process.
"The Republican leadership of this Congress has
engaged in a strategy of retribution and whitewash for their own ethical shortcomings. They subverted the integrity of the Ethics process and they must
be stopped," said Rep. Slaughter. She added, "It is time to air this
out publicly in the form of hearings. The public has a right to know what a
mess has been made of their government."
"Given that Chairman Dreier, Rep. Sessions and Rep.
Cole of the Rules Committee all supported gutting the Ethics process, and have each contributed $5,000 to Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s legal defense fund,
holding these hearings becomes all the more important. Mr. Dreier must
demonstrate to the American people
that the Rules Committee Republicans will no longer place the political survival of an ethically challenged Majority Leader above the integrity of the
House," said Rep. Slaughter.
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Welcome!
Welcome, Ms. Slaughter and thanks for posting here. We hope that you will take advantage of a great resource at your disposal, and that is this forum and its members.
Thank you for the above effort and all that you do.
For those who are skeptical, I authenticated the posting source.
Woohoo!
Now this is what I'm talking about! Democratic representatives who are reaching out to voters is what is going to get this country back on track!
Welcome, Ms. Slaughter and thank you for all you do. :D We've got a website full of progressive democrats who get their news and participate in democratic activism online and we appreciate you.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
A hearty welcome as well Ms.S
A hearty welcome as well Ms.Slaughter. Please let us know when and how you need us! It’s a whole new Democratic ball game now. We are with you.
Many Thanks!
Welcome Rep. Slaughter!!
We're happy to have your ear. I personally would like to thank you for standing up for the rights of millions of Americans. We need more people just like you in the Congress, Senate and White House (hint hint ;).
Welcome Rep. Slaughter, and t
Welcome Rep. Slaughter, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for hearing us. We are ready, willing, and able to assist in any way possible.
Welcome Rep. Slaughter
if you need any help, please let us know.
Thank you for all your help.
Welcome Rep. Slaughter! You
Welcome Rep. Slaughter! You are awesome, and I, too, send my sincere thanks for all you do! As John Kerry said before the last election, "I am reporting for duty"!
Bump. I am at a lose to sa
Bump.
I am at a lose to say anything non obvious about a man like Tom Delay. His sentiments and behavior seem patently un-American to me. I suppose as corruption swelled in Washington I started to give up hope that anyone would make him responsible for his actions. There are moments when one is stunned at just how remarkable America is. Should this man face justice whilst his political party controls all branches of government America will once again reveal herself as truly stunning.
On the odd chance that someone, somewhere, can see through the politcs of both sides, I have to repeat what I’ve said before: I do not want to be ruled, I want to be governed. Our Nation is strongest both economically and militarily when we give our citizens breathing room. I am but one man, trying to contribute to my family, community, and Nation, but of late I feel besieged. This draws me from contributing in my most effective ways. Seeing justice work against such great odds will put a bit more spring in my step and I’ll pass that on.
Now that Delay is simply look
Now that Delay is simply looking for political diversion in the Schiavo case, Democrats might consider posting comments about Delay in this thread as well as the Schiavo threads.