Boehner Will Offer Resolution to Force House Ethics Committee Action on Whether Rep. Jefferson Should be Expelled from the House

Via email:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced today he will force a vote in the House of Representatives to refer the 94-page indictment of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) to the House Ethics Committee. The resolution will instruct the Ethics panel to review the serious allegations and evidence against Jefferson and report within 30 days on whether he should be expelled from the House for conduct that brings dishonor to the institution, jump-starting a stalled Ethics Committee process against Jefferson that was started during the 109th Congress but shut down by Democratic leaders in January 2007 when they took control of the House.

Boehner’s resolution will also remove Jefferson from the House Small Business Committee and officially block Democratic leaders’ effort to appoint the controversial lawmaker to the House Homeland Security Committee, which would have given him access to highly sensitive top secret information. Boehner issued the following statement:

“If the charges against Congressman Jefferson are true, he should be expelled from the House of Representatives, or he should resign to spare his constituents and colleagues any further indignity. If my Democratic colleagues are serious about holding all lawmakers to the highest standards of ethical conduct, they will support the Republican effort to remove Congressman Jefferson from his seat on the Small Business Committee and to refer the matter of his indictment on bribery, racketeering, and money-laundering charges to the House Ethics Committee for quick resolution. The American people rightfully expect the highest ethical standards from their elected leaders, and I urge Democrats to join our effort to force the Ethics Committee to do its work in the wake of Congressman Jefferson’s indictment.”

NOTE: The example of Rep. Jefferson is just the latest example of House Democrats retreating for their promises on ethics reform. Inaction by Democratic leaders has left the House Ethics Committee ill-prepared to handle the matter appropriately according to the following excerpts from a May 24, 2007, report in the Capitol Hill publication Roll Call (“No Sign of Life in Jefferson Ethics Probe,” Roll Call, May 24, 2007):

Ø “More than a year after the House ethics committee voted to launch an investigation into the activities of embattled Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), the panel appears to have stalled in that effort and it is unclear if it has pursued the matter at all since Democrats took control of the chamber in January.”

Ø “Another indicator is that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has yet to name for this Congress the Democrats’ 10-member “ethics pool” – the group of Members pre-selected by their respective party leaders to serve on investigative subcommittees as they are needed.”