G. K. Butterfield: “last week the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), majority leader, blamed House Democrats for the fact that the Committee…”

“last week the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), majority leader, blamed House Democrats for the fact that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has still been unable to hear the case against him. Mr. Speaker, House Democrats are trying to abide by the rules that this House passed at the beginning of the year. It is the Republicans and the chairman who refuse to follow the rules. They want to appoint a partisan staff director to lead their efforts on the committee despite House rules that explicitly state staffers be nonpartisan professionals. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is supposed to be a place where Members can get straight, unbiased, trustworthy ethics guidance. How can Members who might have disagreements with the House leadership feel comfortable going to the committee for advice if they fear committee staff members are incapable of performing their official duties in a nonpartisan fashion? I wonder, Mr. Speaker, why the Republicans want to appoint partisan staffers to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Could it be that they like a partisan staffer in a room when decisions are made about certain Members of this House? We have to wonder. ____________________”