Hoyer: Ethics Committee's Credibility In Tatters As Repug Purge Continues

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2005
CONTACT: Stacey Farnen Bernards (202) 225 - 3130

Hoyer: Ethics Committee's Credibility Is In Tatters As Republican Purge Continues

Firing of Professional Staffers Smacks of Retribution, and Is Yet Another Example of Republican Arrogance and Abuse

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today regarding the recent firing of professional staffers on the House Ethics Committee by the new Republican Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Doc Hastings (WA):

“Chairman Hastings’ firing of two highly respected members of the committee’s professional staff is one more step in the elimination of consideration of ethical violations in the House of Representatives. And when considered alongside the many other Republican abuses , it ought to outrage the American people.

“When Rep. Joel Hefley was fired as Chairman of the Ethics Committee last month and Rep. Hastings was appointed in his place, I warned that the committee was on the verge of losing its ability to act in an independent and non-partisan fashion and simply becoming an extension of the Republican leadership. Rep. Hefley’s only transgression was that he had the audacity to exercise the independence that is essential to a credible ethics process.

“Yesterday’s unwarranted staff purge confirms what I most feared, and it smacks of retribution because these staffers put the ethical integrity of this institution above the agenda of the Republican leadership. This action comes just two weeks after the Republican leadership’s decision to remove Rep. Hefley, and two other members whose partisanship ended at the Ethics Committee’s door. Reps. Hulshof and LaTourette were replaced with members whose contributions to Majority Leader DeLay’s legal defense fund call into question their impartiality on possible future matters before the committee. This latest decision to remove non-partisan staff shows that the Republican leadership is simply not interested in having a credible ethics process.

“I fear that a towering arrogance has infected the Republican leadership that, left unchecked, will damage the reputation and credibility of the House of Representatives and harm the interests of the American people. Republicans and Democrats who share the conviction that their first obligation as members of the House is not to party but to the strictest ethics code should be concerned about the direction in which the Ethics Committee is headed. An Ethics Committee that has been stripped of its ability to enforce our body’s ethics rules fairly and rigorously will send the unmistakable message that the highest standards of conduct do not matter in the House, or anywhere else, for that matter.

“I will be following very closely the personnel practices of Chairman Hastings. If he thinks he is serving the best interests of this great institution by transforming the Ethics Committee into a reliable pawn of the Republican leadership, he is sadly mistaken.”

The Continuing Pattern of Republican Arrogance and Abuse

• The Ethics Committee rebuked Majority Leader DeLay on three separate charges in 2004, and deferred action on a fourth count that is being investigated by a Texas grand jury. This was the fourth time in five years that Rep. DeLay has been rebuked by the Ethics Committee.

• The Ethics Committee sent a letter to former Rep. Chris Bell (D-TX), who filed the ethics complaint in 2004 against Majority Leader DeLay, that was deliberately designed to chill the filing of ethics complaints by House Members.

• In one of its first acts in this 109th Congress, the House Republican leadership changed the ethics rules so that if the Committee is deadlocked on whether to proceed with an investigative subcommittee 45 days after an ethics complaint has been filed, the matter is dropped. The rules used to provide that a deadlock after 45 days would automatically trigger an investigative subcommittee. This turned a bipartisan process into a partisan process.

• The Republican leadership fired Rep. Joel Hefley (R-CO) who presided over the Committee when it admonished Majority Leader DeLay and replaced him with Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA), who according to press accounts is very close to the Republican leadership.

• The Republican leadership also replaced Republican Reps. Kenny Hulshof (MO) and Steve LaTourette (OH) with Reps. Tom Cole (OK) and Lamar Smith (TX), both of whom have contributed to Majority Leader DeLay’s legal defense fund.

• Former Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI) and Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) (as well as Majority Leader DeLay) were admonished by the Ethics Committee for their conduct during the unprecedented three-hour vote on Medicare prescription drug legislation in 2003.

• Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), the former Chairman of Energy and Commerce Committee, fielded a job offer from PhRMA, the trade group for pharmaceutical companies, while working on prescription drug legislation. He was later hired as PhRMA’s executive director for an extremely lucrative salary.

• The Committee, to date, has not investigated whether House Members and staff received financial favors from Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.




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[donco6]

1. In a Republican Congress . . .

. . . I can hardly think of a more pointless appendage than an Ethics Committee.

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2. The Hill - Ethics firings decried

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/021705/brief2.html

Ethics firings decried

House Democrats and government watchdog groups yesterday lambasted Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), the newly appointed ethics committee chairman, for firing two senior aides from the panel.

Hastings dismissed staff director and chief counsel John Vargo and counsel Paul Lewis.

“Chairman Hastings’ firing of two highly respected members of the committee’s professional staff is one more step in the elimination of consideration of ethical violations in the House of Representatives,” said Hoyer.

Hastings could not be reached for comment.

Alexander Bolton

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After reading the Hoyer press release, this is all the Hill is capable of printing? Sheesh.

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3. Hastings' home town paper calls him a "loyal Republican"

Ethics panel promotion means test for Hastings

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/story/6128626p-6010182c.html

This story was published Sunday, February 6th, 2005

<snip>

Now, in the wake of Hefley's ouster, Hastings is under a national microscope. While Republicans cite his seniority and reputation for fairness as reason for the promotion, Democrats and watchdog groups charge that Hastings is at the helm to do Hastert's bidding and protect DeLay. Those labels are not news to Hastings' constituents here in the Tri-Cities. He has long shown himself to be a party stalwart, a lawmaker more tied to the process and party politics than to any particular issue.

When that charge arose in his re-election campaign last year, Hastings defended himself by arguing that a loyal Republican is what his district wants and needs. He said he can take better care of his district by amassing clout in the majority party. Indeed, the ethics committee job -- not a favorite among lawmakers -- appears to put Hastert in Hastings' debt and could lead to the chairmanship of the Rules Committee, which decides whether legislation lives or dies.

more......

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4. NYT - Democrats Criticize Removal of 2 Staff Members

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/politics/17ethics.html

Democrats Criticize Removal of 2 Staff Members
By CARL HULSE

Published: February 17, 2005

ASHINGTON, Feb. 16 - Two senior staff members of the House ethics committee are being removed from their jobs by the new chairman, drawing criticism from Democrats and others who said the changes reflected continued retaliation for actions taken last year against the majority leader, Tom DeLay.

The committee chairman, Representative Doc Hastings of Washington, has decided not to retain John Vargo, staff director and chief counsel of the panel responsible for enforcing House rules, along with Paul Lewis, spokesman for the panel, which admonished Mr. DeLay last year in three instances.

Ed Cassidy, chief of staff to Mr. Hastings, said the chairman was following the standard practice of choosing new senior staff members to "ensure that a new chairman and the entire committee staff can work together cooperatively, confidentially and productively."
"Anyone suggesting these decisions were made for partisan reasons is flat-out wrong," Mr. Cassidy said.

But Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said the move appeared to be retribution after a decision by Republicans to oust the previous chairman and two other Republican members of the panel who acted against Mr. DeLay of Texas. House Republicans also changed the rules to make it harder to initiate an ethics inquiry. "This latest decision to remove nonpartisan staff shows that the Republican leadership is simply not interested in having a credible ethics process," Mr. Hoyer said.

more....

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5. Statement of Democracy 21 President on Ethics Committee Staff Firings

Statement of Democracy 21 President on Ethics Committee Staff Firings and Continuing Wholesale Purge of Ethics Committee by House Republican Leaders

2/16/2005 4:19:00 PM


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To: National Desk

Contact: Amanda Lewis of Democracy 21, 202-429-2008 or [e-mail]; Web: http://www.democracy21.org

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer on Ethics Committee staff firings and continuing wholesale purge of Ethics Committee by House Republican Leaders:

The decision of House Ethics Committee Chairman Doc Hastings to fire professional staff members of the Ethics Committee is just the latest step in the wholesale purging of the Ethics Committee by House Republican leaders.

We have now seen Republican members of the Ethics Committee and professional staff members of the Committee thrown out of their positions apparently because they had the temerity to do their jobs and hold House Majority Leader Tom DeLay accountable last year for his multiple cases of ethical misconduct.

I assume the next move to be made by Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader DeLay and Ethics Committee Chairman Hastings will be to clear out the furniture from the Ethics Committee office and turn it into a storeroom.

The concerted effort of House Republican leaders to shut down ethics enforcement in the House is an act of hubris, and an enormous disservice to the country and to the institution they are responsible for leading. House Members in both parties have a public responsibility to stand up and challenge the Republican leadership campaign to kill ethics rules and ethics enforcement in the House.

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For the latest reform news and to access previous reports, releases, and analysis from Democracy 21, visit http://www.democracy21.org.