WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Wednesday commended Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House for enacting a new, independent system for initiating investigations into potential violations of House ethics rules.
“Speaker Pelosi and the House should be heralded for their courage for bringing a measure of independence to enforcement of House ethics rules,” Lieberman said. While the new Office of Congressional Ethics will not have subpoena power, as I advocated in an amendment last year to establish a Senate Office of Public Integrity, the new House ethics review process will be a significant improvement over the old system of insulated self-regulation. I hope the House vote will embolden my Senate colleagues to reconsider the creation of a Senate Office of Public Integrity.”
In 2007, Lieberman and Senators Susan Collins, R-Me., Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., offered an amendment to S. 1 the Senate Lobbying and Ethics Reform bill that would have established an independent Office of Public Integrity to conduct the preliminary stage of a Senate ethics complaint. The amendment was rejected.