As expected, a House Dem plan to set up a special bipartisan task force to study ethics rules was blocked by House Republicans, meaning the logjam that prevents the House Ethics Committee from conducting business continues.
There is, however, some indication that the GOP is willing to give a little on Dems’ demands. A very little.
The stalemate over three new House ethics rules adopted at the start of the 109th Congress continued Wednesday, although signs emerged that GOP leaders may now be seeking a way out of the deadlock…. Earlier on Wednesday, in a private meeting between the two lawmakers, [Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), chairman of Ethics Committee] offered two proposals designed to end the partisan logjam.
According to both GOP and Democratic sources, Hastings proposed that the ethics committee be given 90 days to examine a complaint before agreeing on how to dispose of it. Under the rules adopted in January, the committee now has 45 days to review a complaint before deciding how to proceed.
More significantly, Hastings suggested that he and [Rep. Alan Mollohan (W.Va.), the panel’s ranking Democrat] conclude a “gentleman’s agreement” stating that no complaint would be dismissed without a vote by the panel.
Under the current rules, a complaint would be dismissed unless a majority of the committee votes to pursue it.
While it’s encouraging to see some flexibility here, this isn’t much of a deal for Dems. House GOP leaders, without input from anyone, forced through a series of sweeping rule changes in January. While the 45-day limit on reviewing complaints was significant, it was probably the least important of the DeLay-imposed “modifications.” Likewise, getting a panel vote before dismissing complaints is irrelevant — with a 5 Dem-5 GOP split, most complaints won’t stand a chance.
The good news is Mollohan and committee Dems have learned that negotiating in good faith with the current House GOP leadership is an exercise in futility.
Mollohan rejected both proposals, the sources said, although in an interview, the West Virginian declined to comment directly on his talks with Hastings.
Mollohan’s position is that he is not negotiating with Hastings or the GOP leadership on ethics rules until the revisions adopted in January are overturned. Mollohan’s concerns are as much procedural as substantive: The Democrat vehemently objects to the fact that ethics rules revisions were pushed through the House by the GOP leadership on the first day of this session without consulting Democrats or even Republicans on the ethics committee.
Only when those revisions — the most important of which requires a majority vote in the ethics committee before a full-blown investigation can begin — are reversed will Mollohan agree to any bipartisan discussions on rule changes. Until that point is reached, Mollohan and the other four Democrats on the ethics committee will refuse to allow it to organize for this Congress, a move that essentially brings all committee action to a halt.
It’s great to see the Dems stick to their guns on this. It’s not hard to imagine instances in years past when they’d cave and accept token (and meaningless) gestures, instead of standing firm.
You think the Dems are finally tired of being pushed around?