Louise Slaughter: “Mr. Speaker, all over Washington and in the country, people are talking today about the majority's last-minute decision…”

“Mr. Speaker, all over Washington and in the country, people are talking today about the majority's last-minute decision to abandon rules changes that would have eviscerated longstanding ethical guidelines in this House, and, with that, the integrity of the institution. And while in the end the majority was right to withdraw these provisions, they hardly deserve our congratulations. The Republicans simply succumbed to tough criticism from every major ethics group in Washington, several major news organizations and House Democrats. The rules changes in question were so egregious that rank- and-file Republicans would not support their leadership's plan. The proposals were so offensive that the Ethics Committee chairman broke with his own leadership on the issue. One of the changes would have permitted Members, indicted by a grand jury on felony counts, to continue to hold House leadership positions. The fact that they ever considered changing the rules of the House in this disgraceful manner is a sad commentary on the ethical compass of this body's leadership.”