A year ago this month I blogged on the need for an independent ethics enforcement arm for Congress.  It has taken that long for the Speaker’s special task force to put together something that would have an impact and pass Congress.  The proposal recently introduced by the Chair of the Speaker's special task Force, Rep. Michael Capuano, represents a meaningful step toward fixing the broken and discredited House ethics process. 

I maintained back then -- and still do -- that this problem was not unique to one party or the other but inherent to the current system.  We have had a change in leadership and stronger ethics rules were adopted but the will and ability to enforce the new rules remains a complete joke.  Putting aside for a moment the tougher role of enforcing the new rules, consider the committee’s ability to simply interpret them.

Example: the new rules strike a blow at the lavish parties that lobbyists throw at political conventions to honor members of Congress – absent legitimate policy arguments, special interests court key legislators with food and drinks to push their niche interests.  The new rules state that lobbyists can no longer throw these shindigs to honor a member of Congress.  The House ethics committee, following its not so very proud tradition of seeking end runs around ethics rules, interpreted the law to prohibit only parties that honor a single legislator.  If two or more lawmakers are honored then the rules do not apply.  It would be laughable if it were not so incredibly shameful.

The most recent proposal is not perfect but it would significantly change the way in which ethics complaints are initiated and handled.  A new independent Office of Congressional Ethics would end the partisan gridlock that has stymied legitimate ethics investigations.  Disclosure of the activities of the ethics office will end the secrecy that has been a hallmark of the Congressional ethics committee and increase accountability for those who break the rules.

The new rules are laudable but their promise to exact significant change here in is only as good as the ability to enforce them.  Violators have little to fear under the current system which closely resembles a firing squad standing in a circle.  The result has been years of bipartisan détente and little accountability.

Specifically the proposal would:

• Establish an independent Office of Congressional Ethics run by a six member board with the power to file complaints and initiate its own investigations into allegations of wrongdoing.  

• Protect board members against arbitrary and partisan efforts to remove them if they take up allegations against members that are either politically embarrassing to one side or the other or involve powerful individuals.   

• Establish timetables and deadlines for acting on ethics complaints and making public any findings of investigations.  

• Assure that the Office is able completes investigations.  

• Make virtually all of the work of the new Office available to the public.

The proposal could be strengthened by giving board members access to subpoena power to compel witnesses to come before the board.  But it represents an important step toward cleaning up the mess in .  Congress should vote on this proposal quickly and start the process of restoring integrity to the ethics process in the House.