The Hill reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ethics task force has made its recommendations. It wants to create an "independent" ethics office -- so independent it's already handcuffed in the type and scope of its investigations:Outside individuals and groups will not be allowed to file complaints against members either to the office or the ethics committee, and the panel lacks subpoena power - two provisions ethics watchdog groups have pushed for, according to an outline of the ethics proposal and knowledgeable sources.Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has been doing what the ethics committees refuse to do -- shedding light on corrupt members of Congresss. Here's what CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan had to say about the task force recommendations:
Despite scandal after scandal and a new Congress that promised to change Capitol Hill's "culture of corruption," it appears that the months wasted haggling over new ethics rules have been all for naught. Given that the new Office of Congressional Ethics will not accept complaints from outsiders nor have subpoena power, in effect, the song remains the same. All we have here is another layer of bureaucracy added to prevent members from being held accountable for their unethical activities.And let's not forget that as much as the media wanted to make the 2006 elections about Iraq, exit polls showed Republicans lost the House and Senate because of corruption:
So far the Democratic-led 110th Congress has failed to start bringing our troops home from Iraq, has not acted on global warming legislation or moved a stalled energy bill, and now has refused to give teeth to its own ethics rules (oh wait, they banned free meals; I'm sure that'll stop future Abramoffs).
I know, I know - still better than the Republican alternative. Yeah, yeah, wait till the Democratic Congress can work with President Clinbamwards. But they're giving Bush and the GOP a great chance to get off the ropes in time for November '08.
Cross-posted from DailyKos