Robin Carnahan: “the ethics process in this House is broken. I believe the first duty of all House Members is to set and follow the…”

“the ethics process in this House is broken. I believe the first duty of all House Members is to set and follow the highest ethical standards, not just toe the party line for either party. The complete breakdown of the long-established bipartisan ethics process is a direct result of steps taken by this current majority. This includes actions taken by House Republicans to cripple the ethics enforcement process and to even purge fellow Republicans from the committee and staff for merely following what used to be fair and time- honored rules in this last Congress. Madam Speaker, there is an ethics crisis in the House that will only get worse unless immediate action is taken. It is time for Republicans and Democrats to move quickly to fix the untenable and unprecedented situation that now exists. As a first step, this House must take up H.R. 131, a measure that will repeal the misguided House rules adopted at the beginning of this Congress that have led to a complete shutdown of the bipartisan ethics process in the House. This House of the American people demands nothing less than strong bipartisan ethics rules. ____________________”