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Republican Backtrack On Ethics Rules
John Stith
Staff Writer
2005-04-27
 SecurityProNews RSS Feed
In a surprising move, House Republicans have begun to back off ethics rules changes they've made in recent months. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, (R-Ill) even suggested reinstating older rules Republicans voted to do a way with earlier this year.
"I'm willing to step back," Hastert told reporters after a closed-door meeting with members of the GOP rank and file.
The point of contention really lies in future of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). The changes were made to protect DeLay from ethics investigations according to Democrats as DeLay faces broad scrutiny over much of his dealings including a trip to England paid for by lobbyists.
One of the most significant changes was in the number of votes needed to call an investigation. The committee, composed evenly of Republicans and Democrats, meets to discuss possible violations of a House member. Previously, in the case of a tie vote, an investigation would begin. The big change was altering the rule that in case of a tie, then the ethics investigation would not proceed.
This was a major sticking point for House Democrats claiming that the only reason they did this was to protect Texas Republican Tom DeLay.
Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, the senior Democrat on the ethics committee, told the AP, "To this point the speaker's actions have been positive. The proposal will be considered and evaluated by the bipartisan yardstick."
Republican support behind DeLay has been strong. DeLay was with President Bush yesterday while the president was discussing his social security plan in Galveston, TX. Although some Time magazine reported recently that some unnamed White House sources suggested frustration with Mr. DeLay and his continuously placing the blame for his problem on a liberal conspiracy.
About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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