Douglas L. Peterson: “it is a great honor to serve in the people's House. Here, every Member is equal and directly responsible to his or her…”

“it is a great honor to serve in the people's House. Here, every Member is equal and directly responsible to his or her constituents to represent them at the national level. To ensure that we each focus on constituent representation rather than our own or special interests, numerous ethics rules have been established to govern our conduct in carrying out our duties. For instance: We cannot accept any outside earned income nor can we accept honoraria; we are prohibited from seeking special favors for ourselves from governmental agencies; and nor can we accept any funding from a corporation or person for representing their specific interest before a governmental agency. Well, Mr. Speaker, given all of these very precise rules--it bothers me deeply that virtually every day a new allegation is reported in the news related to your multiple relationships with so-called think tanks, persons, and corporations that suggest a violation of the House ethics rules. These allegations have the potential to discredit every Member of this House. Let us clear the air. I ask you to call for an outside counsel to investigate these allegations to clear your name and to lift the cloud over this House and to ensure no harm is done to the good reputations of all of the Members of this institution.”