Richard Gephardt: “I would agree that we believe on the Democratic side, I think, with our friends on the Republican side that there needs…”

“I would agree that we believe on the Democratic side, I think, with our friends on the Republican side that there needs to be a complete review of the ethics process with a view toward recommending changes to the whole body, that the body might considerate at some point in the future. We also agree that there should be six Members, one ex officio and five other Members. In that connection, I today am appointing the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Cardin] to be our cochair, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Frost], the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley], the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi] and the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Stokes] to be part of this bipartisan task force. We are also asking the gentleman from California [Mr. Berman] to be ex-officio, as he will be our recommended ranking member on the permanent Ethics Committee. So we will be joining with the majority leader in the unanimous consent request for their appointment and for the understanding that there will not be a filing of ethics complaints for this, I believe to be, 65-day period in which this group should be doing its work. I think it is an important step forward in working together to improve the ethics process for the body.”