Betty Sutton

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts, the chairman of the ethics task force, Mr. Capuano.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I insert a March 11 letter from the Ethics Committee chairwoman, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, into the Record at this point. House of Representatives, Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Washington, DC, March 11, 2008. Dear Colleagues: Today, I am disappointed that the Ranking Member of the Ethics Committee, Representative Doc Hastings, would violate the Ethics Committee's confidentiality rules by releasing a confidential communication between two attorneys who work for the Committee. Both Representative Hastings and I agreed that the Ethics Committee could not and should not give advice to the committee charged by House Leadership with reviewing the ethics process itself. In his letter, Representative Hastings said ``Upon receipt of his letter, I shared Rep. Smith's request with Chairwoman Tubbs Jones and urged her to join me in submitting official comments to Rep. Capuano's task force on behalf of our Committee--a request to which she did not agree''. That is not true. We did however agree to send a letter outlining the functions of the ethics committee process which is signed by both Representative Hastings and myself. (This letter is available upon request). We also agreed to allow our counsel to attend some of the meetings of the outside ethics committee and to address some of the concerns we raised. Some of these concerns are reflected in the Office of Congressional Ethics' final product. Indeed the Oath of Office, Rule 7(a), proscribes this conduct when we declare ``I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will not disclose, to any person or entity outside the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, any information received in the course of my service with the Committee, except as authorized by the Committee or in accordance with its rules.'' Rule 7(d) provides that Members and staff of the Committee shall not disclose to any person or organization outside the Committee, unless authorized by the Committee, any information regarding the Committee's or a subcommittee's investigative, adjudicatory or other proceedings, including but not limited to: (i) the fact of nature of any complaints; (ii) executive session proceedings; (iii) Committee or subcommittee report, study or other document which purports to express the views, findings, conclusions or recommendations of the Committee or subcommittee in connection with any of its activities or proceedings; or (iv) any other information or allegation respecting the conduct of a Member, officer or employee, of the House. Today, Representative Hastings stated he had no desire to release ``the memo'' if this matter had not come to the floor. If Representative Hastings was as altruistic as he claims to be having had this memo since November 2007, he would have initiated a process whereby our counsel could have time to prepare a response that might have been available for public review after being approved by the Chair and Ranking Member. This ``memo'' was actually an internal email communication between lawyers of the Committee and not approved for release by the Chair or Ranking Member. By releasing the said internal communication, Representative Hastings could in fact reduce the confidence that the nonpartisan counsel has in communicating with members uncertain that their work product would be kept confidential. Representative Hastings' reliance on Rule 7(g) which states, ``Unless otherwise determined by a vote of the Committee, only the Chairman or Ranking Minority Member of the Committee, after consultation with each other, may make public statements regarding matters before the Committee of any subcommittee, does not relieve him of the obligation to comply with the rules of confidentiality. As Chair of the Ethics Committee, I have taken great strides not to give an opinion on the proposed Office of Congressional Ethics and I had hoped that my ranking member could place himself above the fray and not act for a partisan purpose. I see now that he cannot. I do not seek to have sanctions brought against Representative Hastings at this time in hope that we can continue the work of this bipartisan committee. I do however want to make it clear that if he continues to release confidential communication, I will seek to have him sanctioned for violations of the Code of Official Conduct. Sincerely, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Chairwoman. Mr. Speaker, when the laws and congressional rules are violated, the American people suffer. They suffer in policy and they suffer in spirit. They're cheated out of their right to proper representation. When Americans went to the polls in the last election, they sent a clear message that they are concerned about the state of our government. The American people want to know that we are here for them, not for the lobbyists, not for special interests and not for self- interest. They deserve nothing less. That is what this is about. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), a member of the ethics task force.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman needs an additional minute, I am going to give him mine.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland, the majority leader, Mr. Hoyer.

Ms. SUTTON. We have several more speakers.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia, a member of the bipartisan Ethics Task Force, Mr. Scott.

Ms. SUTTON

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie).

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials into the Record.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Ms. SUTTON. If there is time available, we will entertain that.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, at this time, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman, my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Space).

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut, my freshman colleague, Mr. Murphy.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hill).

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Hodes).

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie).

Ms. SUTTON. Yes.

Ms. SUTTON. If there is time remaining that hasn't already been assigned or requested, we will certainly not preclude opposition.

Ms. SUTTON. We're working on the list.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I can't guarantee the time.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I reclaim my time.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, I reclaim my time.

Ms. SUTTON. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 1031 provides for the adoption of H. Res. 895, which establishes an Office of Congressional Ethics in the House of Representatives. I rise in support of this important rule that will allow us to enact one of the most important ethics reforms this House has ever seen. Mr. Speaker, the issue of ethics and accountability has long been on the minds of the people that I represent. During my campaign to become a Member of this esteemed body, everywhere I went, people asked about it. They believed and, Mr. Speaker, they were absolutely right, that the corruption and unfair influence that existed in past Congresses was having an effect on our policies, deflecting us from making progress on issues important to them and families across this great Nation. So last year, Mr. Speaker, on my first day in office representing the people of Ohio's 13th District, I was very proud to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives to support the new ethics and lobbying reforms which have now become law. We ended the K Street Project and cut off the gifts and the perks used far too often by lobbyists to woo lawmakers. The historic rules package we passed was extraordinary in its scope and breadth. But it was only the beginning of actions necessary to restore the public trust and to cut off the abuses of recent years. Mr. Speaker, trust is a fragile thing. It's difficult to win and easy to lose. It finds its hold on promises kept and honesty sustained and unquestionable integrity. Many of us, Mr. Speaker, came to this new Congress as new Members dedicated to acting to change the way business was being conducted. In May of last year, I stood side by side with my freshman Democratic colleagues, some of whom we'll hear from today, calling for the creation of a nonpartisan and independent body that could initiate and examine ethics investigations. And today, we are acting to make this change happen. With this bill, we continue the mission of pushing back against corruption. We are forging ahead to restore trust and confidence in this great institution. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 895 will help end the culture and abuses that have hurt the American people, both in policy and in spirit. This legislation is the culmination of hard work of Representative Capuano and the special task force on ethics enforcement. He deserves our appreciation. Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer also deserve praise for their tireless efforts to move this issue forward, sometimes in contentious times. The independent ethics panel will help cure many of the inherent structural flaws that restrain our present ethics structure by eliminating the conflicts of interest that can be found in our current system. The formation of this office is the next step in our mission to repair the damage to the public trust caused by corruption and to ensure that any potential abuses in the future will be identified and addressed. And it's important to emphasize, Mr. Speaker, that our bill establishes an independent, bipartisan office of congressional ethics. The words ``independent'' and ``bipartisan'' are worth stressing. We may hear today about the desire of some who want to delay action on this important measure, but the American people have waited and waited, and this bill has been a long time in the making. This bill was made necessary by abuses of the past that have robbed the public of their faith and trust in this institution, and this new bill was made possible by the commitment of this new Congress to ensure that we will do what it takes to prevent the excesses and abuses of the past and hold those who violate the rules accountable. Safeguarding the trust of the American people is not a part-time job. The integrity of this institution and the trust of the American people must be paramount. And make no mistake, we take this step not only to restore the public trust, we must take this step to ensure that we will be an institution worthy of that trust. That's why we're acting today. The American people are waiting. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join in support of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.